


King's Detail

by DorkMagician



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Attempted Kidnapping, Electric Bondage, God I can't believe I actually had to learn how to play Duel Monsters, Gratuitous Card Games, Gun Violence, I'll add characters as they pop up, Kidnapping, M/M, Magic, Memory Loss, Mutual Pining, Pining, Resurrection, and not in a kinky way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-09-29 17:36:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 74,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17207882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorkMagician/pseuds/DorkMagician
Summary: Three years after the ceremonial duel, everyone who ever interacted with the pharaoh has had their memory of such events erased under mysterious circumstances. Seto Kaiba has abandoned duelling, finding nothing to challenge him. He works security alongside his staff as private detail for Pegasus, constantly chasing after a thrill he can no longer remember. A week into Pegasus' latest Duel Monsters tournament, a rookie has caught the public eye, rising swiftly through the ranks. When a series of threats are made, Kaiba is assigned to the rookie Atem for personal protection for the remainder of the tournament.Running at Atem's side feels familiar, and there's no explanation for the sense of responsibility Kaiba feels towards him, nor his bursts of protectiveness. Who are these people popping out of the woodwork, calling him pharaoh? And how does Atem have such intimate knowledge of Kaiba's past? As an innocent tournament spirals into a cult conspiracy, Kaiba tries to keep his head above the water and stay true to his duty, but is duty all that keeps him between Atem and those seeking to bury the pharaoh?tldr; Nobody remembers anything about Atem upon his return. Prideshipping Bodyguard AU





	1. Three Years' Change

There was a fire in his eyes; that was what had drawn Kaiba’s interest from the start. He noticed it in passing, making his rounds outside of the duel arena. There were monitors everywhere broadcasting the duels live as people wandered the city in search of their next challenge, and there was no way to miss those fiery red eyes projected around every corner. This newcomer had the most screen time of any contestant, and for good reason. Strong duellists, duellists with names and titles dropped on their knees before him at the end of every match, defeated in spectacular fashion by this stranger. It didn’t matter whether he duelled in a stage arena or out on the street with a duel disk; he was captivating in any setting with his presence. It seemed like he was involved in every significant duel that took place since the start of the tournament—it would have been impossible not to notice him. Kaiba stood now on the ground below the duel platform, watching the live match. This challenger had finally risen high enough in the ranks to enter Kaiba’s radius of jurisdiction deeper in the city center. He’d made it to the midway.

Kaiba heard the static hiss gently in his earpiece, signaling that someone had just turned on their mic. An effeminate voice came through, chipper tone breaking Kaiba’s concentration. “Anything to report, Kaiba-boy? How’s my tournament?”

Kaiba leaned absently into his collar, eyes focused on the duel before him. “No irregularities,” he said robotically. “All fair play within my circle, no shifty behaviour backstage or in the arena seating. I’m patrolling the edge. Call Roland if you need an update further in.”

“So far from the center?”

“I don’t mind a bit of grunt work now and then, Pegasus.”

“How noble of you, but how beneath you. A man of your means, out looking for a brawl! I prefer not to get my hands dirty.”

“I prefer to keep the respect of my employees,” Kaiba retaliated. “It encourages them to see me working the field.” He turned his head to keep his eyes on the next draw as he turned the corner of the arena.

“Kaiba be reasonable. If you _insist_ on doing work, you ought to at least pay attention; I’ve been getting nothing but duel footage for the last twenty minutes. Look around you now and then. If you insist on slacking off instead, you ought to at least cover your camera like the other slackers. Or better: you should attend my tournament as a guest, or a duellist. It would be a wonderful little twist to the final roster.”

Kaiba slid his sunglasses off his eyes and tucked them in his pocket roughly. “You’ve got dozens of screens sending live feed of the duels to your study and still you refuse to stop monitoring me,” he mumbled.

“I see you’ve taken the slacker route.” Despite hiding his camera, Pegasus’ tone was still playful. “So tell me, how’s my little diamond in the rough? He’s quite a fantastic underdog, isn’t he? It’s so nice to see him duelling alone for a change. I wonder if he’ll end up duelling Yugi-boy. Now that _would_ be entertaining.”

Kaiba watched the life point reader roll down to zero as a mid-ranking nobody beat his hands on his field mat. The rookie in question stood across the way with a satisfied tilt to his hips. Had Pegasus been following his rise to fame? Did he usually duel double-battles rather than single combat? Kaiba hadn’t seen anything of that sort as he followed him in the tournament. The rookie collected his cards and tucked them in his duel disk before exiting the arena. Kaiba caught the flash of those fierce red eyes once more before they disappeared off the corner of a screen. Something drew him to them. He wanted to see those eyes closer, to see them in person. Or better, to steal and hold that fierce attention from across a field. It felt so real imagining it that if felt almost familiar. He looked once more at the name projected in the jumbo screen, announcing the winner. Atem.

Kaiba waited for the audience’s cheers to subside before leaning into his collar once more. “He’s a decent strategist,” he relented, offering nothing more.

“Careful now. Don’t be so generous with your compliments, Kaiba. People might start to think you had a positive opinion of something.”

“If you keep this up, I’ll be taking out my earpiece. Let me work.”

“Just a minute, now,” Pegasus cut in. There was a new change to his tone. Kaiba put a hand to his other ear to block out the noise of the crowd. Had someone reported a violation nearby? Pegasus sounded serious.

“I want you to keep an eye on him for me. I’ve been reading a bit of unpleasant chatter online concerning him. He’s been a good boy and brought me plenty of publicity and I don’t want anything happening to him. His pretty face has brought me a nice increase in sales this week; don’t let anyone bruise it. Besides, I owe him and his friends a great deal.”

Kaiba paused, staring up at the empty side of the arena. “Has someone made a threat?”

“Nothing outside of the ordinary yet, but the higher up he rises in the ranks, the more angry an established duellist might become. Champion show dogs don’t like mutts pawing around in their circles now, do they?”

“Shall I call a couple men to follow him at a distance?”

“No,” Pegasus replied. “I want you to handle this personally. You know how to be discrete.” And with that, Pegasus’ voice disappeared.

Discrete. What a lie. His face was on magazines and billboards. There was no way for him to hide, even in plain clothes. He was one of the most recognizable faces in Domino City. His security branch alone was the preferred system of forty-seven percent of private businesses and homes. If that wasn’t enough, his company provided the tech and animation for the holograms used in every duel. There was a KaibaCorp product or service of some kind connected to every person in Japan from the chips in their phones to the milk in their refrigerators. And right now, he was traipsing around the city center, a KC pin shining brightly on his lapel. Having the head of security following a high profile duellist was such an obvious publicity stunt. Not that it wouldn’t be mutually beneficial. Action shots of him in the field sold well with magazines. It was good for his image as a hands-on CEO. The only downside was the occasional scolding from Mokuba for putting himself in the mix. However, he could easily hide from his charge if that was what Pegasus meant by discrete. Besides, he was being ordered to stay close to his current object of interest. Who was he to argue?

Kaiba strode toward the exit.

 

Five duels. Kaiba was exhausted just watching. Atem had fought five more duels that afternoon. Kaiba watched in frustration as Atem accepted any challenge that came his way. Did it not matter who he duelled? He was wasting his time duelling against low-ranking duellists. Was that why it had taken him all week to reach the mid-level circle? He’d crash before he even made it to the semi-finals. Kaiba hadn’t even seen him stop for lunch. _He’s gonna blow over with the next stiff breeze_ , Kaiba thought. By the end of the match, he certainly looked tired.

Twice Pegasus had contacted him, giving him updates. So far, the talk online was the usual tamer threats. The media was impressed by his stamina and his duels were receiving plenty of coverage. Pegasus was considering signing him for a sponsorship if he reached the semi-finals. His last call was him pitching Kaiba with possible commercial ideas. Kaiba felt no need to worry; Atem hadn’t duelled anyone important since the arena. These street duels were with new entries. New entries were less likely to feel indignant when they lost. They’d be used to that sort of thing.

Kaiba watched Atem pack up his deck, only to have yet another challenger approach him, stopping him with a hand on his duel disk. Atem smiled wide and said something Kaiba couldn’t hear, but it was obvious he knew this woman. She smiled prettily at him, waving her deck between them, her intention clear. Kaiba watched Atem falter, wondering if he’d finally refuse a duel. He needed to sit and rest awhile, to get something to eat, but Atem nodded and began to shuffle his deck. _He’s too polite for his own good_ , Kaiba thought. Then he watched as Atem placed his first monster on the field. The projector sputtered and faded immediately. Kaiba gaped in horror. Atem had fought so many consecutive duels, his duel disk had given out! Kaiba counted to himself, wondering how many hours it had been since he’d had a chance to charge it. The battery life was good for three days to a week of casual use. _Atem has fought eight duels on his disk today alone_ , Kaiba realized. And if he’d forgotten to charge it the night before, there was no way it’d have any battery power left. _Take the hint and take a break!_

Atem fumbled with his duel disk, visibly flustered. Kaiba could see the sweat drip down from his temple on a nearby screen.

“I’m sorry, Mai. I’ve been in quite a few duels today,” Atem said. He shook his arm to see if the duel disk would power on again. It did not. “I’m afraid I’ll have to forfeit. If you’d like a proper match later, I'll be heading toward the inner circle. We can meet up tomorrow,” he suggested.

“Nonsense, ‘Temi!” the woman replied.

Kaiba strained to listen. What was her name? Vi? As in Violet? _So they do know each other_ , Kaiba thought. He couldn’t help but scoff at the way she shortened his name. _How cutesy_.

She tossed her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder. “It’s the first turn. I don’t mind restarting again. If your duel disk is broken, let’s go to an arena. I don’t mind walking. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to duel the favorite up and comer,” she added with a wink.

Atem took a moment to survey the street, checking the nearby shops. “Do you know if there’s an arena nearby? We’re pretty far from any arcade and the stadium is across town. If it’s too much trouble, we could duel again tomorrow.”

Mai spun on her heel and pointed down the road. “There’s a smaller arena in one of these shops where my brother and I go to practice. Come on! They serve themed sundaes there, too.”

Atem perked up at the mere suggestion of food and jogged along behind her. Kaiba followed silently, amused. He checked his phone, pulling up the tracker ID for Atem’s duel disk to follow from a distance. The marker didn’t show up on the map. _Odd._ He refreshed the map. Even with a dead battery, the duel disk’s tracker ought to work. That was how the media followed popular duellists and how emergency services could be alerted to their positions. It ran on its own power. _He better not have dropped it or something_ , Kaiba thought. Was it possible to fry the chip by overworking the device? He’d ask his team to run more distress tests later. He sent a quick text to Mokuba as a reminder before sprinting down the road. It wouldn’t do to lose them now, especially without a tracker. He realized he’d never caught the other duellist’s name. If he had, he could track Atem by tracking her. But the nearby streets were littered with duellists; without her name, it’d be hard to locate her on such a crowded map.

He scanned the street for the most likely shop, spotting a nice storefront with a candy striped awning. Through the window, he saw an old-timey soda parlor with bar seating and sparkly mint green booths. The floor tiles were pink and equally covered with sparkles. It looked sugary sweet: the kind of place girls in poodle skirts and guys with greased hair flocked to in movies. He saw such a skirt hung as decoration on one of the walls, but in place of a poodle was a Watapon. There were framed cards along the walls as well, and a number of duellist’s pictures. On the counter was a mini-jukebox with a small cardboard cut-out of the Dark Magician Girl in a skirt and arpon, a large ice cream scoop in place of her magic staff. This was without a doubt the themed ice cream shop the challenger had spoken of. Passing through a tinsel curtain, he caught a flash of red and black hair.

Kaiba pushed lightly on the shop door but it stuck. He gave it a little bump with his shoulder. It wouldn’t budge. It was then he noticed the “Closed” sign hanging on the door. He checked the sign for hours of operation. This shop was closed in the middle of a lucrative event before the listed closing time, there was nobody working the counter, and Atem had just disappeared into a back room. He quickly checked the map on his phone. With only one person in the building with a duel disk, it would be a simple matter to identify her. The map came up blank.

“Pegasus!” Kaiba hissed into his collar.

“Kaiba, be kind to my poor ears and don’t raise your voice so. I’m twenty-seven, not some deaf old man. What’s the trouble?”

“Atem’s gone off the map along with another duellist. Can you access the file photos of the duellists under registration and send me anyone you find with long blonde hair?”

“Classy choice! And what style is this mystery date’s do?” Kaiba could hear Pegasus’ keyboard clicking away through his earpiece.

“Wavy. She had purple eyes too. And have the contact information for Domino Delights insurance ready for me. I might need to break through a door in a minute.”

“Done and done, Kaiba boy. Do bring me a treat once you’ve wrapped things up, won’t you? A Toffee Toon Torte on my tab. I’ll even give you a good tip for timely delivery.”

“Here’s a tip; shut up and send me the files.”

Kaiba searched the entry mat and the door frame for a spare key. A plastic figure of the Dark Magician Girl like the cut-out on the counter stood by the window, holding a large chalkboard of specials. Her ice cream scoop had a scoop of strawberry. Kaiba saw a bit of a crack between the scoop and the ice cream. He carefully popped off the top, revealing the key inside. A clever hiding place, but not to the trained eye. He unlocked the door and placed the keys on the counter. He listened at the tinsel curtain before ducking silently inside.

Pegasus called a moment later. “Mai Valentine is the only match. Didn’t you recognize her?” A photo popped up on his phone. It was the girl he’d seen.

“I don’t make a point of remembering every duellist I meet,” Kaiba spat. “I have a feeling she’s tampered with her duel disk, possibly your little underdog’s too. It shorted out after she touched it. Send a police unit to my location to have her escorted out. I want her charged with defacing personal property at the very least. I’ll have further charges depending on the nature of the situation as it unravels.”

He stopped, ducking back into the dining area. Despite his stubbornness, he _did_ remember a little. He thought he’d heard something about her in an interview on tv once. “What does her file say about her family?”

“Parents both deceased, no immediate family,” Pegasus drolled. “Why? Was she with someone? Is this an elaborate scheme to find out if your little crush is engaged? Kaiba, dear, you know I don’t need a plot to share gossip with you.”

“She said something about a brother,” Kaiba said, ignoring his banter. “Be serious for a minute. Have you sent for the unit?”

“Of course. You’re no fun to tease in a tense situation.”

“Have them on standby. Something isn’t right.”

There was a quiet sound on the other end of the line and Kaiba thought Pegasus had signed off. Then he heard the clicking of the keyboard again.

“For once, your suspicious nature is right. I’m watching live footage now of one of the street duels in the inner city circle. Mai Valentine is currently engaged in a duel and her disk’s chip is responding fine.”

“What!” Kaiba looked through the curtain. There was no way he could be wrong!

“This is shaping up to be a true scandal! Do you suppose it’s another cult plot? Perhaps one of those take-over-the-world things you and Yugi-boy love to get mixed up in?”

“What nonsense are you spouting, Pegasus? And don’t sound so happy, it’s nauseating. I’m about to head in and I want silence for the next five minutes.”

The Duel Monsters champion, Yugi Mutou, had crossed his path a number of times in tournaments over the years and their duels had been filmed and broadcast live across the globe. They’d taken the world by storm, building Duel Monsters into the phenomenon it was today. Was that what Pegasus had meant by “take-over-the-world” things?

“I’ll be watching! Oh, someone fetch me something to nibble on, I’m so excited!”

Kaiba looked at his pocket and saw the camera set in his glasses frame was just poking out from the hem. Good. He silenced his earpiece and tucked his phone away. Carefully, he slipped the gun out of his holster and parted the tinsel curtain.

 

In the back room Atem stood on one side of a small arena. The room was filled with empty ice cream drums and old ice cream makers and mechanical things. There were boxes stacked in one corner and bags of sugar on the shelves alongside jars of chocolate and nuts and all manner of toppings and candy bits. The presence of the arena suggested the ice cream parlor had once been a prominent game shop. Local tournaments might have been held here. For Mai to know such a place as this so young, he was certain she'd made wonderful memories here. Atem felt the importance of its history when he stepped onto his side of the field. He shuffled his deck while he looked around. It was nice to be inside, away from all the uproar on the streets from the enthusiastic duellists. He’d been in the midst of that noise all day long and it had begun to wear on him. With any luck, this smaller arena wouldn’t make a lot of noise when they played. He could feel the start of a headache coming on. He wondered if a server would be in to take their order while they played. The room was neat and organized despite its contents, and there wasn’t a speck of dust in the air. It seemed like the kind of place people in the know might often come to play a few rounds. On any other day, he’d be happy to duel a friend until the day was done. In fact, that’s what he’d been doing since the start of the tournament.

That was his plan. Atem had accepted every duel that came his way in order to make his return known. He’d made it so his face lit up every screen in Domino, hoping Yugi and the others would come and find him. He hated to admit that for all the time he’d spent in Domino, he’d never found his way around the central city district. He didn’t know where to find the game shop or the school or any other place he might find Yugi. However, he had his clothes and the deck he’d taken with him into the afterlife, everything just as it was before he’d left the ceremonial duel. He’d appeared in the middle of a crowded crosswalk in central Domino by the will of Mahad and Seto; he trusted they knew the place to send him. And he was right: there was a duel about to begin in the city and he found the registration right away. They provided him with resources for out of town duellists and the location of several hostels to stay in during the tournament, all of which had been sponsored by Pegasus to house competitors. He knew he’d find Yugi if he fought in the tournament. As the reigning champion, he would have been an invited guest. However, in order to gain access to the inner city duel grounds, he had to fight his way in and present his status at the gate. True to fashion, Pegasus had recycled his star chips gimmick from before. The star chips now attached to the side of the duel disk this time and one need only present one’s disk at each district gate to enter.

At first Atem hoped that by appearing on tv, his friends would seek him out on their own. He’d been back just over a week and nobody had come—not even Yugi. He’d been so excited to spot Mai in the crowd, and even more excited when she recognized him. However, a duel wasn’t what he wanted. He’d wanted to go somewhere quiet and ask her about their friends, how life had continued in his absence, but her first instinct was to duel. Perhaps it was the rush of the tournament. He fully expected they’d take the time to talk after their duel, if he could stay awake for it. He hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink since the early morning and he’d been on his feet all day. He was feeling faint, but happy to see a familiar face at last. But there was one face he’d hoped to see most of all which had yet to appear. Its twin was waiting once more in the afterlife, obediently attending to the throne in his absence.

“Are you ready to duel, Atem? I’ve been waiting.”

Atem shook himself from his thoughts. Had he been dozing? “I’m sorry; my head is elsewhere at the moment. Shall we draw?”

The arena lit up beneath their hands and the life point counters read out their starting total. They both drew their first hand and arranged their cards. Atem’s opponent set down her first pair of facedown cards and summoned a beast to the field. Atem studied his hand. It hadn’t been a good draw.

“I summon one monster to the field in attack mode and end my turn. Come forth, Junk Sync—!”

Suddenly, something cold clamped around his ankles and wrists, startling him and effectively cutting him off. Atem struggled but his legs wouldn’t budge. He pulled at the bonds on his wrists and found they would move, but only enough to reach each end of his card map. “What’s this? What’s happening!” he demanded. “Mai! Are you alright?”

The woman across the way chuckled and her voice distorted, sounding deeper than before. “I’m so sorry. I’ve forgotten to introduce myself. I’m afraid this is a case of mistaken identity.”

The stranger pushed a button on their duel disk. In an instant, the image of Mai vanished. In place of her was a strange woman with short white hair. She displayed her duel disk before her triumphantly. “Confused? Allow me to explain. I’m not your foolish floozy friend Mai Valentine. You can call me Heidi. It’s an impressive trick, isn’t it? It wasn’t difficult to tamper with my duel disk. I hacked the solid vision system to project Mai’s likeness onto myself. Isn’t that genius? KaibaCorp’s tech works like a charm, given the right direction. I knew if I disguised myself as one of your friends you’d follow me straight into the lion’s den without question. And here you are, pharaoh, so easily led astray. How lucky for me you weren’t with your peppy entourage all day. That made things that much easier.”

Atem set his teeth and pulled against his bonds. “What do you want with me?”

“Simple!” she shouted. She pointed an accusing finger across at him, her fierce grip creasing her hand of cards. “My brother was one of the rare hunters you encountered in Battle City three years ago, back when he was known as Seeker. You and your friend Yugi defeated him in a duel and as consequence, he lost his soul to the Shadow Realm for eternity.” She slammed her hands on her duel field. Atem saw she was shaking. “You banished my brother’s soul and sentenced him to eternal torment!” she shrieked. “We used to come here as children and duel. It was his dream to collect the strongest, rarest Duel Monsters cards in all Japan and restore this shop to its former glory as a game shop. He promised me that one day he’d display those cards proudly here in this shop for the children of Domino to admire, to give back the inspiration we once found here ourselves. But now, because of you, those dreams are gone—and my brother with them!”

Atem folded his hand neatly and stared at his cards. Their strength and rarity had never concerned him and he could not measure their worth by such things. “Your brother threatened innocent people on the path to attaining his dreams and he disrespected the heart of the cards, casting away weaker cards to gain power. His methods were rooted in greed and destruction. If a duel is what you desire to gain a sense of closure, it is willingly granted, but I will not stand here bound against my will by your contraptions. Release me and allow this duel to continue.”

For a moment, Heidi was silent, her shoulders shaking, and Atem wondered if she’d begin to cry. Then, he heard a quiet sound like sobbing. It grew louder and louder until his opponent was cackling across the room. “Are you so naive as to think that this is nothing more than a simple duel to grant me peace of mind, pharaoh?”

Atem twitched. He realized now that she'd called him pharaoh not once but twice. “You know of me?” he asked, shocked.

“Oh yes, I know all about you. I’ve studied all the footage from Battle City and beyond, trying to track you down. I’ve even seen the security tapes from the Industrial Illusions branch in California during your duels against the users of the seal of the Orichalcos. You’ve managed to hide away somehow for a long time, but finally I saw you reappear in Domino this last week. Are you even aware of your situation?”

“If you plan to turn this duel into a shadow game, I’m afraid you’re too late. Those powers that once enabled the duels have been buried, banished beneath the ancient Egyptian sands.”

Heidi laughed. “A shadow game? No, pharaoh, I intend for no such thing. I work only in the physical world. I intend to torture you just as my brother Seeker was doubtlessly tortured in the abyss.”

“But those banished to the Shadow Realm were returned!” Atem shouted.

“Yes! He was returned to me, but he returned a meek shadow of his former self! He cowers at the mere sight of a card! I can hardly bring myself to acknowledge him as my brother now. And so, as punishment, I will break you down until there’s nothing of you left! Now watch as the first punishment begins!”

Heidi raised her arm and commanded her monster. “Trickstar Candina! Destroy his Junk Synchron and the first of his pathetic life points!” Trickstar Candina’s projection gave a mighty screech through her megaphone, shattering Junk Synchron into pieces.

The counter on Atem’s field rolled down five hundred points, leaving him with seven thousand and five hundred. When the counter stopped, a terrible shock came through Atem’s cuffs, coursing through his body. His cards went flying as he fell against the duel field. He cried out in surprise and pain, the heat of the electricity burning the metal after the shock subsided. His heart skipped a beat and he fell to his knees, already weak, left hollow from his long day of travelling the city. He had felt the full blast of electricity all the worse for it.

“Careful now, pharaoh. That was a dangerous move. For every ten life points you lose, you’ll receive a shock of one milliamp of electricity. You’ve just received fifty milliamps. At as low as seventy five, your breath could stop and you’ll lose consciousness. At one hundred milliamps, the walls of your heart could undergo ventricular fibrillation, resulting in immediate death! However, if you receive a shock of two hundred milliamps, your chance of survival greatly increases as your heart becomes forcibly clamped by muscular contractions. Plan your next moves carefully, if you can still function! At last! After three long years of waiting, our game has finally begun!”

Atem could hardly hear her laughter as he struggled to rise, the blood pumping in his ears. His legs shook beneath him and his heart was fluttering wildly in his chest. But the words she’d spoken last sent more of a shock through him than her electric trap. He’d been gone three years! The days blurred together in the spirit realm and he had spent three years in listless wanting, missing his life and his friends. And now, he could very well die again without even the chance to see them. He doubted Mahad and Seto could repeat their miracle again. With a trembling hand, Atem drew a new card and replaced his fallen hand. His eyes struggled to focus as he looked at the new card.

“What’s wrong, mighty pharaoh? Too weak to continue?” Heidi mocked.

“I will fight … until I am re … reunited … with … with my friends,” he panted.

“You really _don’t_ know your situation, do you?” Heidi said. She shuffled her hand playfully. “You no longer _have_ any friends.”

Atem gaped at her. “What have you done with them!” he shouted, voice hoarse.

“Nothing,” she replied. “When you left this world, they forgot about you, and so did everyone connected with the millenium items. Even my own brother can no longer recall his trauma, but his body remembers and he recoils like a dog at the slightest provocation. I only discovered you in my search for the one who caused my brother this injustice. At first, I suspected only Yugi Mutou, but then I noticed the differences between you and Yugi during your duels and your time in Battle City, running around with that Seto Kaiba. Your full history was revealed to me later on as I dug deeper into your mysteries. Now all mention of Pharaoh Atem have been been stripped from this world after you returned the millenium items to their final resting place. Thanks to you and your friends, all that remains is the security footage no one will ever have need to explore, buried away in various archives. Once you’re gone from this world, even your fifteen minutes of fame in this tournament will be lost and I’ll finally be rid of you!”

“Don’t get your hopes up so quickly—I summon my Big Shield Gardna, in defense mode to protect my life points!” As Atem set the card messily onto the field, the man and his shield were projected before them, crouching to protect his master. Atem leaned against the tabletop and forced himself to breath steadily. Even speaking without pause took a great effort. He stared across the way at her two facedown cards and felt the sweat roll down his back. He needed to draw something soon that would allow him to form a strategy.

Heidi smiled grimly. She raised her hand high and one of her facedown cards rose. “I reveal my facedown card, Shield & Sword, forcing your Big Shield Gardna’s attack points and defense points to switch values, rendering you powerless to stop my attack!”

“Oh no!” Atem cired, watching the stats change on the projection. “With my Big Shield Gardna in defense mode and his point values switched, he only has one hundred defense points!”

“That’s not all,” Heidi taunted. “Though I had to sacrifice my Trickstar Candina’s deadly attack by switching, she still has three hundred attack points to her advantage. That means you’ll still receive a shock of thirty milliamps. And next turn, after I’ve eliminated your Big Shield Gardna, your field will be completely defenseless, my Trickstar Candina’s points will revert to their original values, and I can attack one thousand eight hundred of your life points directly! Now, attack his Big Shield Gardna and bring the mighty pharaoh to his knees!”

Atem’s life points rolled down to seven thousand and two hundred as the electricity coursed through him once more. He sank down upon his knees, hitting his head against the tabletop as Heidi watched and cackled. His arms remained above his head, held by the searing metal cuffs.

“It doesn’t matter whether you get up again or not. If you can no longer continue the duel, I’ll win by default and a strong electric current will be released, frying you from your every limb! Whether you prolong the inevitable and I watch you suffer or you give in now and let yourself die, this duel will shortly end with your lifeless body lying at my feet, and nobody will be the wiser for your disappearance!”

There was a movement to one side of the room and Heidi flinched before ducking behind the tabletop. A shot rang out and the projector on her side of the arena shattered. Atem opened his eyes to see a man leap into the room, a gun raised in his hands. He heard frantic footsteps retreating and a high pitched whine. The same whine came before each previous charge of electricity. Heidi had triggered a failsafe release. He closed his eyes and felt a hum of static shiver over the light hair on his arms. He braced himself. Then, he heard two more shots and felt the resistance on his arms give way. Two more shots rang and he felt himself being lifted to his feet by a pair of strong arms. More footsteps began approaching as he opened his eyes. He was greeted by two striking blue eyes—eyes he had tried to ignore gazing up before him in another face in Egypt.

“Kaiba?” he faltered.

Kaiba nodded, pleased to be recognized. He saw the slight bruise on Atem’s forehead and thought he might be concussed. If he could recognize him, perhaps he wasn’t so hurt. “Very good, Atem. What year is it?” he asked, giving a standard test as he helped him up.

“2015 plus three … 2018.”

 _2015 … why count from then?_ Kaiba wondered. He was quickly distracted by the pounding of feet just behind the tinsel curtain. “Get to your feet—hurry! I don’t think she was working alone.”

Atem forced himself to jog behind Kaiba toward the back exit, feeling his muscles constrict painfully. He was not sure if his muscles would tear first or if he would fall before then. Kaiba threw himself against the back door when it did not open by hand, knocking back a broken plank of scrap wood that had been propped against the lever. Atem stumbled on the step down, falling against Kaiba’s back. Kaiba turned and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him along. He felt a static shock under his fingers and a strange sense of familiarity. He stopped running as he felt Atem stumbling again, nearly falling.

“Can you run?” he asked, looking over his shoulder. The sky was darkening and the streets were nearly empty. The tournaments enforced strict curfew hours on all duellists to discourage night games that might disturb the sleeping public. With no one out to witness them, he worried what the men following might attempt. Atem shook his head, too tired to reply. Even this little movement made him dizzy and he lost balance, falling forward. However, he did not hit the pavement. He felt the world tilt, making the blood rush to his head, and felt strong arms wrap around him again as he was lifted off his feet. He heard Kaiba panting above as he carried him away from the alley.

If he’d had the strength left, he might’ve cried. Kaiba had found him. Kaiba would know where to find the others. And Kaiba had said his name—his true name, no less. Perhaps at least one person remembered him, and if that person was Kaiba he could be satisfied with that much. He felt himself go limp as Kaiba trudged on, lulled by the steady sound of his footsteps and the warmth of his arms. Once or twice, he thought he’d heard him speak, but he let himself drift off to sleep.

Kaiba leaned into his collar. “I couldn’t catch her name, but I was able to take one picture of her before I went in. Run it through your security and see if you can figure out her identity before she gets away. And where the hell was my police unit! She had backup lingering nearby and now I’m in the middle of a chase, toting around dead weight.”

Pegasus’ remorseful voice came through his earpiece, though even remorseful, Pegasus sounded insincere. It was one of his most unfortunate qualities. “The unit was dispatched ten minutes ago, but the foot traffic in the downtown area from duellists retiring for the night was much too heavy. They should be catching up soon. They have the location from your pin on lock and two police will be coming directly to you while the others search the area. How is Atem? I don’t like what I saw through your feed. Should I contact emergency services?”

“I’ll take him to a service area with a police escort once they arrive. For now, I’m ducking into the first populated business I can find and hiding out.”

“Be careful, Kaiba,” Pegasus said. Then the line cut, leaving Kaiba in silence.

Finding a place to hide wasn’t as difficult as he expected. The inner city district was filled with plenty of nighttime businesses. He passed by the most obvious place—a nightclub and bar—worried that too much noise would affect Atem in his current state. Besides, it would be too crowded with such a large event drawing in an influx of energetic youth. He spotted the sign for a karaoke bar and ducked inside. He explained their situation and asked for a room. A karaoke room could be locked, offering him better protection and a quiet, soundproof place to wait for the police. He lay Atem down on the soft viewing sofa and ordered them both water and a fruit plate for when he awoke. He asked the waiter to knock only once to identify himself. When his order was brought, he left it on the table and let the waiter take his card before he finally relaxed, reporting in to Pegasus to let him know he’d found a safe place to wait. He sat on the floor beside the sofa, peeling off his coat and earpiece. He’d barely done any real running, but he was riding a quickly receding wave of adrenaline. This would be fun to see on the news in the morning.

Until today, Kaiba had been chasing after something that made him feel alive. He remembered once there had been a time when that had been duelling, but now there was nothing to challenge him. He remembered several intense duels with the champion Yugi Mutou, but he’d rechallenged him again and the thrill he’d once found was missing. He’d lost, but the duel had been tame, filled with none of the energy or enthusiasm of their previous battles. When he lost, he felt nothing, not even a wound to his pride as a duellist. He’d launched himself into several different projects, seeking a new thrill. His solid vision was advancing quickly and that pleased him, but it wasn’t enough. He tried animating an updated catalogue of projections for his duel disk system, but he even grew tired of bringing his Blue Eyes to life. It was during this time that he’d spent several long minutes staring at the Dark Magician. It was Yugi’s favorite card, but there was something more to it. The face of that card was oddly human to him, as if the projected image were something more than a character. Even this familiarity grew tiring when he could make nothing of it.

He tried going back to his old childhood accomplishments. There was no challenge for him in soccer. However, he found a spark of thrill in judo. He entered competitions, building his way up to his previous status. He tried different fighting techniques, broadening his arsenal of attacks, refining his defensive technique. He practiced with Roland, sparring at his private home gym. His personal guard was an excellent challenge. The true thrill returned one day when a stranger tried to pull Mokuba from his side when they were out in the city. Kaiba twisted the man’s arm around and threw him over his shoulder. That was the day he decided to do field work for KaibaCorp Security. He felt alive, running through the streets of Domino, protecting celebrities and businessmen. Working hard protecting something felt right. Having something to fight against felt right.

Kaiba turned to survey Atem’s injuries. There were four wide red marks on his wrists and ankles and one small bruise on his forehead, but nothing was bleeding or broken that he could see. That didn’t rule out any internal damage. He’d need a great deal of medical care to heal the burns. He’d protected him from the worst outcome, but he might’ve done much more. The thought passed through his mind briefly that Atem might not be able to continue participating in the tournament and he scolded himself. The man had just been the victim of a physical assault; duelling was the least of his worries. He wondered if it would have been better to have broken the door in. If he hadn’t taken the time to talk to Pegasus, he might have prevented the damage. Kaiba looked at Atem’s red, welting wrist. He reached out to touch it and saw for the first time the difference in their skin tone. Atem’s skin had always been a golden brown; he’d seen it time and time again on every monitor in the city. Why was he surprised by it now?

The police arrived in short order. Kaiba carried Atem to their car on his back, being sure to thank their waiter and the desk manager on their way out. His card was returned and he apologized for the food left untouched in their room. Atem hadn’t woken up. He set Atem in the car first, placing him upright gently and buckling him in before closing the door and crossing to the other side. True to his word, he steered the police toward the first service area. There were several of them throughout the city, specifically to handle the injuries of duellists. Losing often brought out the worst in people, and duellists were known to assault one another for rare cards. With so many young people running around in the summer heat, carelessly forgetting to drink water regularly, heat stroke wasn’t so uncommon. He’d learned a lot from Battle City.

At the service area, Atem was given a swift evaluation and a hospital transfer for safe measure. Kaiba requested the medical expenses be charged under his name specifically. Though Pegasus would surely have covered any and all fees, Kaiba personally assumed responsibility. He waited until Atem received his care and was wheeled into an overnight room. He watched as they hooked him up to an IV. He’d been severely dehydrated on top of having second degree electrical burns.

Kaiba pulled out his phone to call Mokuba and let him know he was heading home when he received a text from Pegasus.

_[ Your replacements are waiting at the door. I’ve sent a car. Go home and get some rest. ]_

Kaiba powered off his screen and wondered how well he’d sleep tonight. He looked at Atem’s arms resting limp at his side, bandages wrapped high around his lower arms. This was not the thrill he wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody, call me Emmett. I'm dorkmagicianem on tumblr. I'm new to the Yugioh fandom, returning to it for the first time since early childhood. Welcome to my completely self-indulgent yugioh fic. This was intended to be a quick one-shot but then it spiraled out of control and will now be a multi-chapter fic. Hope you stick around and key-smash in the comments. You'll find doodles for this au occasionally on my tumblr.
> 
> Please let me know how you felt about the pacing. I'm worried I rushed this first chapter in my excitement. Any tips would be well received.
> 
> Edit: I did a doodle of the Dark Magician Girl in the ice cream parlor outfit for you guys!  
> https://dorkmagicianem.tumblr.com/post/181605777180/dark-magician-girl-dressed-in-the-ice-cream-parlor


	2. Reunion

It was morning in an instant and Kaiba felt the same. He’d had no nightmare, nor had he been tossing and turning in his sleep, but his sleep had not been restful. He’d simply been tucked up in bed, thinking over the evening’s events when suddenly, he blinked and his room was filled with light. He hadn’t had such an awakening in years. Blink sleep, he called it. He’d never bothered to look up any true name. Looking at his phone, he discovered it was just before six. He cancelled his alarms, deciding he might as well get up and start his day. With the extra time on his hands, he dawdled in the shower, letting the hot water fall over him, soothing his nerves. He didn’t feel as shaken as the night before, but he was still unnerved. He washed himself quickly and thought a great number of things to keep his mind occupied, paying attention to none in particular, watching the glass door fog over with steam.

When he became too used to the water, he turned the heat up again. He accidentally turned the knob a tick too far and felt scorching water pelt his back. He shut the water off immediately and rushed out of the shower, letting the cool air in the bathroom engulf him like a soothing balm. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw how red his chest was, flushed from the sudden heat. Small white scars stood out in his reflection; they were little more than scratches from a few minor fights during his first year working security, back when he’d been a little more careless. He stared at the contrast of the white against the red. The image of his hand against Atem’s inflamed arms flashed before his eyes. He stood dripping on the tile floor, his hands braced against the sink. He understood now what had shaken him. No matter what happened out in the field, he’d never failed to protect his charge. This was the first time someone besides him had been hurt. It was his first failure as a guard.

Kaiba snatched a towel from the rack beside him and furiously began drying himself. As long as Atem was alive and breathing, he hadn’t failed anything. He was exposed now and that made things easier, as opposed to sneaking around to avoid being spotted. _A ridiculous idea in the first place_ , Kaiba thought, scorning Pegasus. A bodyguard’s place was beside his charge and that’s where he’d be from now on. The reason he’d been injured in the first place was because he’d been alone and made an easy target.

Dry, he tossed the towel onto the sink counter and went back into his bedroom. He dressed, slipping a black turtleneck over his head and stepping into a fresh pair of slacks. As he buckled his belt, he checked the time again, leaning over to look at the clock on the wall. Nearly six-thirty. He felt restless. He pulled on a pair of socks and put his phone in his pocket, leaving the room in search of breakfast. He was just stepping into the kitchen when he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out, expecting a text, only to find a call incoming from the hospital. He had the number for the front desk saved. He swiped the screen and answered.

“Mr. Kaiba?” a woman said, sounding surprised. “I was expecting to leave a voicemail.”

“You must be new if you’re surprised. A veteran resident would have given their name and the hospital. You’re off script.”

“Pardon. Nurse Davis of Domino General Care. Forgive the early hour of our call, but we were updating the system last night and only gained access to the hospital’s files this morning. There was a complication with your patient’s medical records. Currently, we hold no files for anyone under the name of Atem. It is possible that the old files did not transfer during the update and we are currently looking into possible errors. This morning, we’ve been sending call notices to a number of patients with similar circumstances. In the event that the patient is covered by another hospital, we would like to request that you provide a copy of the patient’s forms in order to evaluate treatment cost under insurance. When convenient, please assist the patient in filling out his medical release forms. We have twenty-four hour visiting.”

Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose. Surely Atem could fill out his own forms when he woke up. As for the medical records, Kaiba could easily send someone to his home to pick up any physical documents, or Atem could give them his doctor’s information and have it sent from whichever hospital serviced him.

Then Kaiba considered his injuries. _Alright_ , he thought. If writing was too strenuous, he’d help with the forms. It might be damaging to move his wrists too much at the moment.

With a sigh, Kaiba relaxed his grip. “I’ll be coming in shortly,” he said. “Please have any of his personal items brought to the room for me in the meantime.”

“Yes, Mr. Kaiba. Right away sir,” the nurse said. He could almost hear her bow as she spoke.

Kaiba ended the call. The first thing he did afterwards was text Roland with instructions for Mokuba’s schedule. He asked him to have the cook make something nicer for Mokuba than usual, a sort of apology for returning home late and leaving early again. Since the start of the tournament, he’d been keeping irregular hours.

_[ He hasn’t had crepes in a while. Let him have two. Remind him to review his homework before he leaves, and tell him that if he promises to do his new work before I get back, we’ll have dinner out tonight. ]_

He didn’t wait for a reply and headed back upstairs. He stopped and lingered outside of Mokuba’s room. They hadn’t seen each other face to face in a few days. Lately, they’d only been texting each other, and twice they shared a call before bed to say goodnight. Stepping lightly into his little brother’s room, Kaiba made his way to the work desk, careful not to make any noise. Mokuba would be up in less than twenty minutes or so, but there was no cause to wake him. The desk was messy, Mokuba’s homework shoved to one side in a careless pile, just as he always had since he was younger. Kaiba stacked the pages of finished work and tucked them neatly into Mokuba’s bag, checking to make sure he had his pencil case. He knew he didn’t need to; Mokuba was a responsible kid. He looked over his shoulder toward the bed where Mokuba was sleeping curled around a plush Kuriboh. He smiled. Crossing to the bed, Kaiba knelt down and ruffled his little brother’s hair. “I’ll see you tonight,” he whispered. Quietly, he retreated, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Downstairs, Kaiba grabbed his coat and slipped on his shoes. With his wallet tucked into his back pocket, he was ready to go. His driver was already waiting out front for him, having received word from Roland that Kaiba was up and about, ready to go out. Kaiba slipped in the back seat, tossing his coat on the empty spot beside him. He adjusted the pin on the lapel before powering up the camera on his sunglasses. He set these atop his head, essentially clocking in for work. The guards on duty wouldn’t be expecting him until eight, but he wasn’t going to sit around and wait until a clock told him when something was to be done. He texted Pegasus to let him know he was on his way to the hospital. Pegasus sent a response almost ten minutes later. It was obvious he’d been half asleep when he typed it.

_[ My skin may be flawles, but I still need my beauty sleep, Kaiba. This face takes wprk. ]_

_[ Your skin may be flawless, but your texting could use some work, old man. Learn to spell. ]_

_[ Learn to sleep. ]_ Pegasus replied.

Kaiba twiddled his phone humorously. There were few things in life that brought him more true pleasure than harassing Pegasus in the early morning. Another notification buzzed on his phone.

 _[ You’d better let that poor boy sleep. ]_ Pegasus sent. He seemed to be more awake, if his spelling was any indicator. _[ He’s had quite a shock. ]_

_[ And people tell me I’m insensitive. ]_

_[ Oh dear, I’m incorrigibly witty. But I suppose one can’t help these things. Tell him hello from me, won’t you? ]_

Kaiba didn’t dignify him with a response.

The car stopped at the hospital entrance and Kaiba collected his coat. “I’ll text if I need you again,” he said to the driver. He let the door close behind him and was inside before the car pulled away.

A nurse at the desk bowed politely and greeted Kaiba when he entered. “Which room?” Kaiba asked. He knew he didn’t need to specify whose he meant. One of the many privileges that came with the Kaiba name was knowing he never had to wait to be understood. People were always expecting him.

“If you’ll follow me, sir, I’ll take you there now.”

Kaiba walked a few paces behind her. He never did like hospitals; instead he had a family doctor attend to them at home. This hospital was quiet. The lights in the hall were that white fluorescent that made every hour of the day identical. The light bounced off the clean white walls and the identical doors. The sterile smell of ammonia filled his nose and lungs. Somehow, it felt unnatural that the hall should be warm. The sights and smells suggested something cold and indifferent; the warmth made it all the more uncomfortable.

They came to another corridor, this time lined with windows. She stopped before a door at the very end. “Just through here, sir,” she said and held the door open for him. Kaiba entered silently, not wishing to disturb its occupant. The nurse left a clipboard of papers on a table by the bed, where a lonely glass of water sat untouched. She bowed and let herself out. Two guards sat in chairs against one wall, one of them dozing while the other stayed alert. When the one on watch saw Kaiba come in, he nudged the other and they both stood. They bowed and left as the nurse had, closing the door behind him.

For a while Kaiba simply stood in the center of the room, staring. A clock ticked on the wall to his left where the natural light filtered in. There was a long L-shaped window high on the wall, hugging the corner of the room. The light filtering in was gentle and clear morning light. He exhaled, listening to life stirring outside: birds chirped in the little yard just beyond the wall and the wind rustled in the trees. And in bed, Atem lay quietly, his breath steady. He was still sleeping.

Kaiba stepped forward. He draped his folded coat over the end of the bed. Something stopped him from approaching any further toward the head. He looked. Atem’s arms were hidden under the blankets, but he knew the bandages were there. It was a relief to see that there was no longer an IV standing by the bed. He only had to worry about the injuries to his arms and ankles. The skin there would be tender for awhile. He’d done some looking last night when he couldn’t sleep. Three weeks would see the burns on his skin healed. With luck, there might not be a noticeable change in pigment. He rubbed the back of his neck and wondered if he ought to apologize when Atem woke up. He decided against it.

Absently, he scratched the back of his own wrist. He debated whether he ought to have asked the nurse about any nerve damage the electric shock might have caused. He eyed the clipboard she’d left for him and thought there might be information about further tests on it. He picked it up and began flipping through. The top papers detailed his stay expenses, already deducted from one of his accounts, and the patient’s status. A medicated balm had been prescribed for the wounds; he’d send someone to pick it up before they left. There was a checkup scheduled soon to test Atem’s nerves. _Good._ Kaiba checked the time for scheduled release. Atem was free to go as early as ten o’clock, after the tests concluded. He nodded and flipped to the thin packet beneath. It was the release form for Atem’s medical records. All he could fill out on his own was the patient’s name. He pulled the pen off the top of the clipboard and clicked the top, but he stopped before he could put a dot of ink on the page. Was Atem his first or his last name? _It could just as easily be a stage name_ , he thought. He sighed and replaced the pen. Atem would need to be awake for this.

Kaiba put the clipboard back on the table. He leaned against the side of the bed, folding his arms over his chest. He listened to the clock ticking behind him and wondered how to pass the time. He could text Mokuba to tell him good morning. Mokuba would spare a few minutes between brushing his teeth and breakfast to tell him about how he’d spent the last evening, but Kaiba was sure he’d end up asking about what had kept him so late. He’d have to answer honestly and he’d end up worrying all day. It wouldn’t do to send him off to school distracted. Pegasus was another option. He had no doubt that the people at the karaoke bar would have posted something on social media by now and the media would be having a field day. There would be some damage control to attend to before. He shook his head. He didn’t have the energy for dealing with that at the moment. He’d leave it up to Pegasus, though Pegasus would doubtlessly have him make a public statement eventually. He might even have Atem interviewed.

Atem had to be his real name. If it had been a stage name, he would have heard it by now. Nobody entered the duelling scene with a stage name right off the bat who didn’t swagger about obnoxiously. Atem was too serious as a duellist to do any such thing. But it was curious that he chose to use only one name.

 _He looks like Yugi_ , Kaiba thought. He was older, perhaps, and taller, his features were more angular, but there was a resemblance. Pegasus had mentioned Yugi before. _Maybe they’re related._ He looked at the golden brown of his skin dubiously. _Distantly related_ , he corrected himself. He’d ask Atem before making any phone calls.

In the meantime, Kaiba went to sit in one of the chairs previously occupied by the guards. He took out his phone and began scrolling through his social feeds to give him something to do. He might as well see what people were saying about him and the incident. Time moved slowly as he watched news clips and checked the posts people had tagged him in, but at least time was passing. It was only after the first few posts that Kaiba felt his stomach rumble. He’d forgotten breakfast.

 

Atem woke to the strong, sharp smell of coffee. He breathed it in deeply before opening his eyes. He didn’t often drink coffee, but the smell was comforting to him. The small kitchen at the game shop smelled like coffee in the morning, and Téa occasionally brought a cup along when they all met up before school. But Grandpa Mutou’s coffee smelled like cinnamon, and Téa’s was more often than not drowned in something that smelled sticky and sweet like caramel or raspberry syrup. This smell was different. Atem opened his eyes, blinking a few times before he was quite awake. He turned his head to observe the room. There he sat, looking as fierce and powerful as ever, gazing down at the blue-white light of his smartphone, a cup of bitter coffee raised to his lips.

Kaiba.

The sound of Atem’s rustling caught his ear and he looked up, light from the screen vanishing. Atem stared. Everyday in the afterlife, two identical blue eyes stared back at him, but what lay behind them was completely different. For so long, he saw only loyalty, devotion, and an obedient respect where he had once seen rebellion and a fiery challenge. Seto was no substitute. Atem smiled, feeling something twist inside. He’d missed his friends so much. In Egypt, there were few doubles to mock his memory, taunting him with familiar faces. He did not often see Shimon outside of ceremonies and counsel, and so was not often forced to think of Yugi’s kindly grandfather. However, Seto was always lingering nearby, close enough that he might reach out and tap him if he wished to gain his attention. With Seto loyally dogging his every step, it was impossible to avoid thinking of Kaiba. That made their parting all the worse.

And here was Kaiba, waiting for him, watching him. Those challenging eyes had no bite today, only curiosity. There would be so much to discuss. Very soon, he might be reunited with his friends once more, but for now, he was glad of this private moment. It was nearly impossible to talk to Kaiba with his friends around, always the more energetic crowd. Kaiba didn’t care to interject when they were busy with his attention. But now he offered it, undivided.

Atem raised a hand toward Kaiba and noticed the bandages on his arm. He grimaced, but tried to ignore the memory of last night. The grimace was replaced by a smile when he saw Kaiba rise and approach him. He optimistically imagined Kaiba would shake his hand and welcome him back. Instead, he saw him reach for a glass on the bedside table and pass it to his waiting hand. Only a little disappointed, Atem accepted it and sat up. He took a drink to please him. He was reminded that Kaiba wasn’t one for grand displays of affection or passionate greetings; these were the kind of quiet gestures he made. But he _had_ been gone three years. A smile would be a reasonable expectation.

“How do you feel?” Kaiba asked, looking at the wall.

Atem thought his voice sounded cold, distant even. For a horrible instant, he thought Kaiba might be angry with him. After all, he had left without a proper goodbye. Yugi, Téa, even Joey and Tristan had the opportunity to bid him farewell, but he had left just after they’d had their turn. He had looked back from the other side, but the light was too bright. There had been a flash of blue, the last he had seen of the physical world, but he doubted Kaiba had seen him. That might have been better. Seeing the expression in those eyes, he’d lost his smile. That expression had haunted him during his time away, even more than the image of Yugi on his knees.

 

“I’ve been worse,” he said, remembering their time together in ancient Egypt, fighting Zorc and Bakura. He’d been worse in a number of shadow games. This was a minor inconvenience at most. “How did you find me?”

“I’m head of tournament security,” Kaiba explained. “Your duel disk’s chip went offline and I saw you go in behind that woman.”

“Heidi,” Atem said, nodding.

Kaiba looked at him and typed something out on his phone. “Any reason she was after you in particular?”

That was Kaiba, business as always. There would be no mention of his time away. He would pick things up exactly as they’d been left, as if Atem had never disappeared. “I defeated her brother in a duel in Battle City: the rare hunter, Seeker.”

Kaiba continued typing a moment more and put away his phone. “Battle City, huh?”

“I remember,” Atem said. He cracked a slight grin. They’d spent quite a bit of time together in Kaiba’s tournament. He hadn’t forgotten. “Are you texting Yugi and the others?”

“No,” Kaiba replied. _So he_ is _related_ , he thought. And by others, he doubtlessly meant those peppy friends of his. _I suppose he just expected me to know. Not that it wasn’t obvious, but he could have said so himself rather than assuming I’d know he was connected with them._ “It’s Pegasus. Sending him the details so we can find more information on this Heidi. If your wrist doesn’t bother you too much, fill these out. I’ll have breakfast brought in for you once you’ve finished.”

Atem accepted a clipboard of forms. As Kaiba continued texting, he read, remembering the forms he had filled out for the tournament. He’d been relieved that his separation from Yugi hadn’t taken his ability to read Japanese. More than anything, he’d been relieved that he had not needed an ID or any other hard legal information. However, this form was asking for many things which he could not provide.

“Kaiba,” he prompted.

Beside him, Kaiba was busy typing away.

“Kaiba,” Atem repeated, a little louder.

The phone went dark and Kaiba looked up. “What?”

Atem held up the clipboard. “You know I can’t fill these out,” he said.

“Right,” Kaiba mumbled, taking back the board. He slipped out the pen and clicked it against the paper. “First name?”

Atem’s eyes widened a fraction. He’d said his name last night when he’d rescued him. And just now, he’d shown no signs of being upset. He thought he’d imagined the tone in his voice. “ _Atem_ ,” he said, unable to keep the offence out of his voice.

“Surname?” Kaiba asked, pen scratching paper.

“Kaiba, I am the son of Aknamkanon,” he said. “What do you think?”

“I think you ought to spell it out for me so we can move this along. Pegasus wants to see us in an hour.”

Atem exhaled loudly. A pharaoh needed no surname. Why was he acting so mechanical? He expected a different welcome. But if Kaiba wanted to play his little game, that was fine. He’d play along. And he’d win. “You want that in Kanji, Katakana, or in Hieroglyphics?”

“If you try to give me Hieroglyphics, I’ll let you fill these out yourself.”

Atem reluctantly spelled it out, accepting Kaiba’s petty revenge. The faster he complied, the faster they could move on.

“Current doctor and hospital location?” Kaiba continued.

“None.”

“Insurance carrier?”

“None.”

Kaiba tossed the clipboard aside. Where did this guy come from? Was he even more broke than Joey that he didn’t have insurance? “These forms are useless then. As far as the hospital is concerned, you don’t exist.”

Atem gave a single, hollow laugh. “I’m sure Pegasus can help with that when we meet with him; he always has things worked out,” he said. “Have you contacted Yugi?”

“Should I?” Kaiba asked, a tone creeping into his voice.

It might be easier with Yugi to calm things down and keep everyone friendly, but it would be harder to talk to Kaiba and confront him. Yugi’s methods of keeping the peace usually involved shutting down anything that escalated above a slightly raised voice. Sometimes Kaiba needed to spit to get his words out.

“No,” Atem decided. “We can reunite with him later. I don’t want the day spoiled by your escalating attitude.”

Kaiba turned to look at him directly. “Attitude? I don’t have to do any of what I’m doing, I’ll have you know. I could have called for a nurse to fill these things out for you. I’ve been nothing but civil and accommodating.” He wasn’t so riled up yet that he might raise his voice, but his tone had more of an edge to it. “And anyway, what gives you the right to call me ‘Kaiba’ and act so buddy-buddy with me? You and I are strangers. Don’t think that because Yugi and the cheer squad call me Kaiba that that gives you any right. They’re already on thin ice.”

Atem felt another strange twist inside as Kaiba spoke, as if something pulled taught had suddenly snapped. He never expected Kaiba to react this harshly to his absence. Or could it be that he couldn’t tell the difference between him and Yugi in the past? They were anything but strangers. Their rivalry, he had always felt that it was theirs truly. But if Kaiba didn’t know him outside of their battles, what bond could he possibly lay claim to?

He stared sullenly down at the plain white sheets covering him. Maybe he should have called Yugi first. Now he dreaded the meeting. He couldn’t imagine Yugi would be anything but glad to see him, but now there was doubt. Yugi had thought they’d been separated forever. To suddenly appear … he might ask why he hadn’t come sooner, or why he’d not come to him first. He couldn’t handle a wall between him and Yugi on top of the one Kaiba had built.

Numbly, Atem asked, “What shall I call you?” He would not look at him.

“Seto Kaiba, sir, or Mr. Kaiba like everyone else,” Kaiba replied.

“Fine.”

“I’ll call for your breakfast then, now that that’s settled.”

Atem turned away and tossed aside the sheets, grabbing the clipboard. Any excuse to ignore the man sitting behind him. “Forget it. I won’t want it,” he said. He flipped the pages and tossed the board onto the bedside table, finding he couldn’t focus on a single word.

Kaiba squinted at Atem’s back. “Starve then if you’re so proud,” he mumbled.

“Where are my clothes?” Atem demanded. He tugged at the blue hospital gown he was wearing. He wanted to leave.

“Your things are over there.” Kaiba didn’t bother pointing. The room was empty enough that a blind man could find the bag of belongings. It sat on the unoccupied chair against the wall.

Atem turned around again and swung his legs back over the other side of the bed, careful not to hit Kaiba, knowing it would end poorly in his current mood. He hopped down, expecting to simply walk over to the bag and swipe it up. Instead, he felt a painful twinge in his ankles and he stumbled forward. Kaiba caught him before he went down completely and helped him up.

“Moron! You’ve just been overnight at a hospital for electrocution; you shouldn’t be moving around so quickly. The doctor still has to check you for nerve damage before she releases you.”

Atem allowed himself to be helped back onto the bed, but he turned on his side, facing away again. “Just hand me the bag then. I want to see my deck.”

“You should be resting, not playing.”

“I want to make sure I didn’t lose any of my cards or leave them behind in that arena.”

“The police have them. Your duel disk too. They were left at the scene and they count as evidence until they release them back to you. That woman did something to your duel disk that interfered with the GPS chip. That bag has nothing in it but your clothes.”

“Give it to me anyway,” Atem demanded. “I have a right to my own things.”

Kaiba scowled at him. “Don’t even think of changing. The doctor still needs to conduct her final tests. She’ll be here any minute, so just relax, would you?”

Atem flopped back on his pillow. “Why are you even here when you clearly don’t want to stay? You could go outside and wait if Pegasus wants us to take the same car to meet him. If you’re going to be angry with me, I’d rather you said what you needed to say now or leave me be.”

“I’ve already said what I needed to say,” Kaiba said. “And you’re stuck with me for now. Pegasus asked me to watch over you personally, but I can have that changed the minute we see him.” He was becoming less interested in Atem by the minute. It was one thing to admire him on the duelling grounds—it was another dealing with him as a fussy patient.

“Since when do you work for Pegasus?” Atem asked.

“Since the tournament started. I told you; I’m head of security.”

Atem scoffed. “What does that mean? You put up the cameras and order around a bunch of large men in black suits?”

“It means I’m the one wearing the black suit, and until I call for a replacement, I’m the one on guard duty, babysitting your ungrateful ass.”

“Like my bodyguard?”

“Oh listen to that folks: it can learn. You’re slow to respond, but at least we know you aren’t suffering any brain damage.”

Atem debated kicking him. He might’ve if he thought it wouldn’t hurt his ankles again. “Why did you take on something like that? Isn’t running KaibaCorp a fulltime job?”

“Our products are selling well and stocks are up; a tournament always brings an increase in sales. Besides, KaibaCorp Security is still a branch of KaibaCorp. I’m sure you’ve already noticed from my lack of appearance in the larger tournaments, but I haven’t exactly been wasting my time with duelling these past few years, which frees up a great deal of my schedule, you can imagine.”

Atem paused, all thoughts of kicking Kaiba lost to him. “You haven’t been duelling?” he asked, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

Kaiba looked at him, brow furrowed. “No.”

“Oh.” Atem sank back onto his pillows, staring at empty space. “For … how long?”

Kaiba nearly told Atem to mind his own business, to just wait quietly for the doctor, but something about Atem’s expression stopped him. He turned back to his phone. “About three years,” he said.

“Why?” Atem asked, startling Kaiba.

“Why?” Kaiba echoed.

“Yes, why.”

Kaiba gripped the phone tightly in his hand. He’d never talked about it before, at least not to anyone but himself. If anyone asked, he’d make excuses: he’d grown bored of it, the company was too taxing on his time, or any other myriad of excuses. He opened his mouth to answer with yet another, but he caught the burning look in Atem’s eyes, so similar to the look he’d seen during those many duels during the past week. That expression demanded truth.

“There was no point anymore,” he said. “Yugi and I duelled.”

“Did you win?” Atem asked, unsure which answer he wanted.

“No. I doubt I ever will, but I don’t care about duelling him anymore. Whatever passion possessed me to challenge him before has gone. There’s no challenge with him beyond choosing a better strategy, and our duels feel mechanical. He changed, and he took the excitement from the game, leaving a void where it had once been. I went back to old games until I found something new to excite me. Working security fills that void.”

Atem stared up at Kaiba. There was something different in the way he carried himself. Leaning against the bed, arms crossed, he didn’t look the same as before. Now, his arms were tighter. His shoulders were higher. And his eyes—he saw a hint of that haunting expression. It was a subtle, strained look. It pained him to see him look so …

Defeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year. Let's keep the saddest part in 2018, shall we? Up next, prepare for plenty of quality Pegasus content and get ready to listen to Kaiba's hacking theme music on repeat. The time is drawing near for him to do some digging for the pharaoh.
> 
> Reviews are welcome. Thank you.


	3. The God Cards

The ride to Industrial Illusions’ Domino office was filled with a weighty silence. Atem passed the time in his own thoughts, reflecting on Kaiba’s earlier confession. He could not imagine Kaiba, so proud and so eager to seek challenges, would abandon his greatest passion and settle for a lesser _hobby_. But the reason he’d given had left both a hollow in his heart and a warmth all the same, leaving him with a guilty feeling of pride. The passion that had inspired Kaiba to issue challenge after challenge … had been him. It wasn’t the duelling itself that Kaiba had missed, but what Atem himself had brought to it. In his own way, without knowing it, Kaiba had acknowledged him at last as his own entity, and more than that, he had expressed a kind of longing. He’d missed him. It gave Atem hope to think that there might truly be more between them than a rivalry solely between him and Yugi, wherein he was simply a secondary party, unacknowledged and forgotten. After all this time, they might at last be friends.

It was what Atem wished for more than anything in the other realm. His other friends, though he remembered them and his fondness for each, had been friends of another sort. Though their friendships were real, they were friends of proximity. Their initial bonds were those of loyal servants and members of the court. Yugi’s friends were the same, but without the obligation. Though he’d grown immeasurably fond of them, they were friends he shared with Yugi and had come to know through his partner. Their friendship began as a borrowed bond before they truly came to know him as his own person. Kaiba was the first truly independent bond he had made: the first bond that was truly his own. He was the one who forced him to grow with every new encounter. He encouraged Atem in a way none of the others could, and his connection was all the more sincere because of it.

Atem rotated his wrists, trying to relieve their soreness. As he looked at his wrists, he thought more about their conversation and wondered how long Kaiba would stay upset. It wasn’t as if he’d had a choice to leave. When he’d finally begun to understand the world around him, he’d been forced back to another altogether. He didn’t imagine Kaiba would continue to ignore him for long. Kaiba’s temper was quick and he never stayed on one hill long enough to die on it. Once he’d grown tired of being passive aggressive, they could finally talk. There were many things that needed to be said.

“Would you stop that already? You’re going to irritate your skin.”

Atem turned his head and saw that Kaiba was glaring at his wrist. “Stop what?”

“Stop scratching. It could scar.”

Atem hadn’t noticed he’d been scratching, but he noticed now that his ankles were itching horribly. He sat on his hands to prevent succumbing to the urge. Having his own body, he noticed, was frustrating in some ways.

“Did Pegasus tell you what we ought to expect?” Atem asked. The driver had interjected some time ago to give them an update on their arrival time. They’d be there soon.

“He has a proposal for you; likely an advertising campaign, if I know him. You’re a favorite to win the tournament— _if_ you can still duel, that is.” Kaiba eyed his wrists.

“I can duel just fine. I don’t always have to draw dramatically,” Atem said, leaning back in his seat. “I’ve often wondered how close you’ve come to spraining your wrist, what with your theatrical flair.” He side-eyed Kaiba and saw the corner of one eye twitch. He smiled. By the gods, how he’d missed this.

“Showmanship is a large part of what makes something as simple as a children’s card game so appealing to a global audience. Why do you think I invented the solid vision system? Do you think the empire I’ve build would be so successful without the appeal of a realistically rendered battle between monsters?”

Atem turned to stare out the window. “I suppose that’s part of it, but one also requires a true opponent. Without someone to play off of just right, the battle loses its passion and becomes a chore.” He’d tried duelling in Egypt on the dark days during which he was most filled with longing for home. Though the duels were full of the same challenges and familiar strategies, they were far from what he missed.

Kaiba looked across the seat at Atem, catching his eye in the reflection. He turned to look at the dark glass that divided them and the driver. “That’s true,” he said. And Atem heard him speak again, quietly, as though he were talking to himself. “I suppose that’s what I’ve been missing.”

Atem looked at him again, but Kaiba was looking straight ahead. He felt a gentle smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Kaiba would never say anything directly, but that small admission was enough for him. The rest of the ride was as silent as before, but the weight was lifted. Atem closed his eyes and relaxed, only opening them when he felt the car slow to a stop and the soft hum of the engine had died.

“I’ve never seen anything but the California headquarters of Industrial Illusions,” Atem said, sliding out of the car. The building in front of them loomed large and its shiny glass windows reflected brilliantly in the sun, blinding him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes against the glare. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but I’d really been expecting something more whimsical, especially here in Domino. This is where the Duel Monsters boom was born. The California office was so modern and sleek, but I figured that was simply because it was a foreign office.”

“Were you expecting a scale model of Toon World or something?”

Kaiba stood beside him, looking up at the unremarkable office before them with his arms crossed firmly across his chest.

“When you consider the fact that he lives in a castle, that isn’t too far from the mark. He might at least have some monster statues out front.”

“The Industrial Illusions office isn’t exactly a theme park. It’s the business end of Pegasus’ corporation.”

Atem squinted. “You have two Blue Eyes statues on the steps of your office. I’m surprised you restrained yourself from setting up a third.”

Kaiba shifted.

Atem caught the movement. _“No,”_ he teased.

There was a significant pause as Atem gaped up at him. Then, Kaiba spoke again. “It’s on the roof,” he muttered. Before Atem could respond in any way, he started walking toward the doors, taking the steps in stride. “Hurry up before I leave you behind,” he called gruffly.

Atem grinned in disbelief, but suppressed his laughter to spare Kaiba’s ego. That was one mystery solved. No matter what great speeches he made, no matter what grim faces he pulled, there was a child in his heart still. He jogged up the steps to catch up, trying to ignore the stress on his ankles.

A man at the front desk looked up as the sliding glass doors opened. Saying nothing, he directed the pair towards an elevator to one side of the desk. The ride was short, the building being significantly shorter than KaibaCorp’s office. It was, however, a very wide building, much like the Domino museum. Looking through the glass, Atem thought it looked similar to a museum as well. It had an open floor plan dotted with glass cases and large framed paintings on the walls. Atem looked carefully before they rose higher and saw the familiar face of the Dark Magician in one of the paintings. They were portraits of famous Duel Monsters! The cases must contain the original cards before they’d been made for the market.

Kaiba looked to see what had caught his eye. “It’s a popular tourist attraction on the lower levels,” he said. “There are plaques relating the inspiration for some of the more well known cards and photographs from his expedition to Egypt. The building was remodeled about two years ago and the museum was built after Pegasus came out of retirement. He got bored designing private resorts and spas.” He shook his head as if he’d known all along that Pegasus would never have left Duel Monsters permanently. “This tournament was his first major announcement after coming back to work on a new generation of Duel Monsters events, and to advertise the tournament, he’s designed a hundred new cards. The top hundred duellists in the tournament will each receive a card that aligns with their rank upon the completion of the final duel. They’ll be released to the general public in six months in limited supply.”

“Incredible!” Atem cried. He wanted to tour the museum after the tournament ended to see if the designs might be among the ones on display. Yugi and Joey would definitely be interested. Perhaps later they could look together.

“What, you didn’t know? It was announced the day before the competition,” Kaiba said.

“I only just arrived on the first day. I didn’t hear the announcements.” Atem briefly wondered why Kaiba would bother relaying the information if he thought he’d already known about the prize, but he answered his own question. Kaiba liked to show off. There was likely a part of his explanation that wasn’t public knowledge yet. If Atem had to bet money, he’d say it was the part about the general release.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Atem followed Kaiba down the hall towards a pair of large double doors of dark cherry wood. The doors slipped away into the wall just like the glass doors at the entrance, and beyond them was Pegasus’ office. It was a large room filled with elegant plants and portraits of his favorite monster cards—all toons, predictably. The back wall was made entirely of floor to ceiling windows. Centered in front of the windows was a long desk covered with papers, sketches, and messy folders. There was a small table as well, littered with brushes and tubes of paint. It stood beside an open easel and canvas, and at the canvas was Pegasus, dressed in a plain linen shirt and washed-out green trousers. The straps of his suspenders hung at his side and there was a stained paint rag on his shoulder. As he painted, Pegasus pulled at one of his falling rolled sleeves, so deep in concentration that he had not heard their arrival.

Atem was awestruck. Seen outside of his imposing choice of business attire, Atem could really see how young Pegasus truly was. In his rumpled state, he looked like anyone he might pass on the street. He looked human. Atem had known for a long time that Pegasus had been the creator of Duel Monsters, but he had never truly imagined the work he might have done in creating them. The cards he’d cherished, their familiar faces, they were all hand painted by this man, and for the first time, he felt an inkling of a connection with him. He recognized the passion that had gone into every piece. This was no mere toy invented only for profit—this was art. This passion that Pegasus put into every portrait was the same consuming passion that had driven Pegasus to desire the millennium puzzle and solid vision system. It was the same passion he held for his late wife. Atem had seen it in many people, in two different ages, expressed in countless forms. It was a kind of love.

Kaiba entered further into the room, purposefully enunciating his steps with extra force. He was nearly at the desk when Pegasus finally heard him, and his face lit up in a brilliant smile. He tossed his brush carelessly into a glass of water and wiped his hands on his paint rag, standing up with enthusiasm. “Kaiba! I’ve been waiting!” he chimed, a tone of sheer delight in his voice. “And did you bring— _oh!”_ There was a new tone, one of something like awe.

Without allowing Kaiba to speak, Pegasus tossed aside his rag and scurried around the desk toward Atem. He took Atem’s hands in his own. “It’s been a long time since we’ve last met. You must be the pharaoh, freed from the millennium puzzle, come back to us at last. It’s been a privilege watching you duel in my tournament. I welcome your return to Domino, Atem.”

Kaiba perked up slightly. _Pharaoh?_

Atem was shocked by the friendly greeting, even more so for Pegasus’ familiarity with his name and status. He had not been present at the ceremonial duel. In fact, he had not seen Pegasus face to face since Duellist Kingdom. “How do you know me?” Atem asked.

“I’ve been keeping my remaining eye on you and your friends since Yugi’s victory in my first tournament—or was it your victory? I’m not sure who of the two of you has more claim to the title King of Games. Maybe we ought to give it to Yugi, considering you’re royal in your own right, Pharaoh-boy. Besides, from what I’ve seen during your absence, I have at least been assured that Yugi is recently deserving if he wasn’t then. He’s been duelling quite skillfully without the puzzle.”

Atem felt a swell of pride in his heart. “I’m glad he’s done well,” he said. “And the title has always been his own. He won against me in our final duel.”

“Ah, so that’s how it concluded! I figured something must have happened for you to vanish the way you did.” Pegasus released his hands and sighed in dramatic fashion, pushing a hand through the bangs that covered his left eye. He frowned slightly, his brow furrowed. “I’m afraid I don’t remember a great deal. Tell me, was I present for the duel? It pains me that I might have forgotten such an historic moment.”

“No, you were not.”

“Then I am pained no more! But oh, what it must have been like to stand there and bear witness to such an occasion! What a battle it must have been! Tell me, how did you use my god cards? Did you split them between your decks or did one take all?”

Kaiba pushed his way into the conversation, stepping in between them, overcome with an envious greed. “What’s this about god cards?” He demanded. The collector in him had resurfaced. “I know every card in Duel Monsters and I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Both Pegasus and Atem looked at Kaiba, confusion written clearly upon both their faces.

“There was a time you held one of them, Kaiba,” Pegasus said, speaking slowly. “I saw it in the Battle City footage archives. I’ve reviewed them recently, looking for inspiration for my tournament.”

“Obelisk,” Atem replied. He felt a cold sensation washing through him, chilling his blood. Kaiba had once sacrificed his Blue Eyes White Dragons to summon Obelisk in a duel. If there was any card in the world he valued over his dragons it was that. It wasn’t possible for him to forget. And yet …

Kaiba placed his hands on Pegasus’ desk, leaning forward forcefully. “I’ve never held any card by that name. What kind of classification is that? Egyptian god cards! Does holding these cards make your little champion a Duel Monsters pharaoh? Is this the publicity stunt you were planning earlier?” he spat. “What are you trying to pull, old man?”

Pegasus blinked. “You don’t remember?” His voice was distant, soft.

Atem felt his breath become harder and he began to sweat. He shook slightly, looking up into Kaiba’s enraged eyes, but Kaiba was glaring at Pegasus. He began to dread the conclusion he thought had been disproven. _Look at me,_ Atem thought. _Look at me and tell me you don’t remember._

If Kaiba did not remember him, what would have become of Yugi? What of Teá, Joey, and Tristan? Would Mokuba have forgotten as well? Would Duke? Mai? And Bakura, who had been the host of another ancient spirit, would even he have forgotten the horrors he’d faced? So many names passed through his memory, names belonging to people who might no longer know him, call him friend. Heidi’s words echoed in his mind.

_“When you left this world, they forgot about you, and so did everyone connected with the millennium items.”_

He wanted someone to remember. He wanted some little comfort, if only just that. _Pegasus,_ he thought. _Pegasus knows me._ He watched him, trying to find some fault in his actions to prove he did not truly know him. He had admitted only just now that his memory was unreliable, but there might be a chance.

Slowly, Pegasus walked back behind his desk. He pulled out one of its drawers and held a remote up, pointing to a spot on the ceiling behind him. A panel opened and a large white screen descended. From another spot opposite came a projector which lit up the screen. Pegasus clicked through a number of folders on screen, selecting one labelled _“YM_vs_SK_BC_Semi_Final” and opened one of the later files: “Slifer_vs_Obelisk.”_ An image appeared on screen of a great red dragon and a blue behemoth of destruction. There stood Kaiba and Atem, locked across from one another in battle.

Kaiba stared at himself on the screen as if transfixed. In an instant, his anger was forgotten, his lust for rare cards a passing desire. Here was something greater. He watched his every motion and felt something come alive inside of him. There was a rush beneath his skin of something awakening. Despite his disbelief, despite his skepticism in what he was seeing, he knew himself. He knew the way he presented himself in battle. He could almost hear what thoughts had been racing through his mind as he tried to strategize his victory. He could see the cards in his hand. And yet he knew nothing of this battle! His heart quivered and he felt a trembling in his hands. There it was. He saw it clear as day. In his posture, in his eyes was that forgotten passion he had been chasing so desperately for three long years. And those eyes were focused with all their intensity on his opponent. There was no mistaking those fiery eyes staring back at him across the field. Though his skin was pale, his features were just as sharp, his stance just as commanding. It was Atem.

“I duelled Yugi Mutou in the Battle City semi finals,” he said. He clenched his hands tightly. How could his mind remember something different from what his eyes were telling him? It wasn’t possible! “This footage is doctored! It’s impossible!” he protested, swinging an arm towards the screen in a violent gesture. He suddenly found that he could not recall what card he’d conceded to Yugi at the conclusion of their battle. As per Battle City rules, the loser of a duel was to turn over their rarest card to the victor. He felt in his pocket for his deck in a sudden panic and whipped it out. He shuffled through his deck until he found them: his three Blue Eyes White Dragons. The three rarest cards in Duel Monsters—the symbol of his company and his bond with his brother; they remained safe and sound in his deck. They had been for several years now. Why this impulsive need to check? And what had he given up?

He slowly looked up at the screen once more and felt the hair standing up on the back of his neck. He watched as he handed Yugi— _No, Atem._ —a strange blue card. He felt a pulsing under his fingertips in the hand which held is three dragons. He shook his head. He couldn’t believe this. And yet—! And yet—!

“Kaiba.”

He raised his head.

Atem reached into the pocket of his coat. Time seemed to drag its feet upon the shallow office carpet as he raised his hand aloft. He fanned out three cards before him, their edges slightly worn with age. A yellow card, a red, and a blue. Their titles: The Winged Dragon of Ra, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and Obelisk the Tormentor.

“You still have all three Egyptian god cards!” Pegasus gasped.

“Yes. I am the rightful owner of all three,” Atem confirmed. But he was not looking at Pegasus.

Kaiba reached for the cards, feeling a strange pull guiding him.

“I no longer have need of these cards,” Atem said, his voice low. He stared at Kaiba, his eyes fierce. And yet he felt them burn, they felt so dry. “They’ve served me well and have done their duty. They’ve fulfilled their purpose and guided me back to my memories. Their spirits have now been freed and reside in the spirit realm from whence they came.” He held the cards closer to Kaiba. “Perhaps they might serve a new purpose now. Just as they guided me to my memories, I pray Obelisk might help guide you to yours. The hearts of these cards still beat strongly with the hearts of the mighty beasts to whom they are connected.” Atem’s hand began to shake as he held the cards forward. He willed Kaiba to remember. _Help him, mighty Obelisk,_ he prayed. _I know you share an unbreakable bond. Please, help me bring him back._ _By the will of the pharaoh, let it be done!_

“Take the card, Kaiba,” Atem insisted. “Do me this kindness, and may the heart of Obelisk reach you.”

Kaiba nearly touched the card, but he stopped himself. He lowered his hand once more, straightened his deck, and shoved it roughly back in his pocket. “This is a load of superstitious nonsense,” Kaiba scoffed. He turned his back to him, crossing his arms. “I’m not missing any memories and I don’t believe in any spirit realm. Yugi may have me believing in his heart of the cards mumbo jumbo, but that’s where I draw the line. You can tell me the cards have a connection to spirits or whatever nonsense of the week you’ve decided to preach, but I believe in my bond with my cards in my own way.”

He turned his head slightly, not quite looking over his shoulder. “And I told you before,” he warned, his voice hollow, “You and I are strangers. Don’t call me Kaiba again unless you want to face the consequences that follow.”

Atem lowered his hand slightly, staring at the space between Kaiba’s trailing coat and the floor. He felt his chest tighten. It was true then. He picked out Obelisk from the other cards, leaving them to dangle limply at his side. He felt Obelisk looking back at him through the painted portrait, as if he could see through this replicated image. The eyes said nothing.

In that moment, more than anything, Atem wanted to find someone who knew him. He had once been so tired of forgetting and had thought he could never feel more lost. Now he knew something much worse. He had been forgotten by those he cared about most. His grip on the cards tightened, wrinkling the surface. Then, in a flash, he tossed the cards from his hand and raced out of the room, running blindly down the corridor, startling the others, but he was gone before they could follow. Where he had been, there was now nothing but silence and a heavy atmosphere.

Pegasus knelt to retrieve the fallen cards, smoothing them gently in his hands. His hair fell in a curtain around his face, hiding his expression. “That was tactless, even for you, Kaiba.” He placed the cards carefully on his desk. He felt a stirring beneath his fingertips as he brushed against them and understood. They agreed. “I must say, I’m deeply disappointed in this backwards dynamic you’ve established. I thought you might have been too proud to approach him when he first reappeared—that that was the reason for your distance. I tried to give you a reason to meet him again in a way that would shield your pride, to allow someone close to reunite with him. For all he’s been through, for the trouble I’ve caused him in creating the god cards alone, I owed him that much. How difficult would it have been to give him a pleasant greeting?” He touched the empty space where the millennium eye had once been. “I thought the trauma of losing the millennium eye was what caused me to lose my memory of the pharaoh. I didn’t think for a moment that anyone else had forgotten. Especially not you.”

 _“Especially me?”_ Kaiba repeated mockingly.

“He may have been Yugi’s partner, but you were his rival. There was something between you, even stronger than your ancient destiny. You defied your destiny time and again in favor of a bond of your own creation.”

Pegasus leaned tiredly against his desk. He reached for a picture frame sitting close beside him and picked it up. He looked at the portrait inside, running his hand over the glass. He remained silent.

Kaiba sighed and closed his eyes tightly, trying to escape that damning image. “I’m tired of all this destiny talk, Pegasus. I make my own destiny, and I don’t need you or anyone else telling me what that destiny is. I have no bond with this stranger. We were never rivals or anything else of the kind. There’s no destiny between us.”

Pegasus looked at him, then looked at the picture. “You know better,” he said softly.

 

Atem slowed, tired from his running, and began wandering through the halls aimlessly. He was truly alone. For the first time, he began to regret his decision to return. It had taken three years of study for Seto, Mahad, and Mana to create the spell they had used to send him home again. It took the three of them together and all their power to cast it. They had watched him slipping away into a darkness of his own creation, watched him fill with the regret for all he had not done with the life he’d borrowed. He had died so young in his first life, and the life he shared with Yugi had been cruelly brief. For the happiness of their beloved pharaoh, they’d toiled, searching for that which would give him a second chance to live the life he deserved—a life he had earned through his many sacrifices. He deserved a chance to live in the world he’d struggled time and again to protect from evil’s many forms.

As if his feet knew where to carry him, Atem found himself in the museum. It was empty; the office was not open for the public. He wandered by himself, the echo of his footsteps for company. He stopped when he felt a familiar presence. He looked up and found himself gazing up into the watchful eyes of the Dark Magician, the visage of Mahad. He stopped, facing the large portrait. He felt a heat radiating from the painting and he stepped forward, calling his name. “Mahad?” The portrait warped before him, as if many spots of light were dancing over his eyes, and he saw the Dark Magician blink slowly. His mouth began to move.

“My pharaoh,” a far away voice said. The magician bowed.

Atem felt his eyes well up with tears and he fell on his knees before the portrait, gripping its golden frame. “Mahad!” he cried, voice catching in his throat. His knuckles soon became white with the strength of his grasp. Hot tears fell onto the bare marble floor, but he didn't care. “Oh, Mahad, I’ve learned of a terrible truth. All memory of me has gone from this world. Kai—!  … Seto Kaiba … ” he choked on another cry and abandoned the thought. “I can’t face Yugi or the others now; one meeting was difficult enough.”

“My pharaoh, what has become of you?” The Dark Magician asked, leaning desperately down to his level. He reached out a hand, but he could not touch him. He clenched his hand, forcing it to lay on his thigh, useless. “What have you learned; tell me all that I may find some way to help you.”

“I don’t understand it, but the millennium items are somehow the cause. A new adversary has revealed this to me. All those connected with the millennium items have lost their memory of all events surrounding them, and so, they have forgotten me. But what is the meaning of this, Mahad? What curse is connected to the items to have brought me this grief?”

The magician held his staff firmly in his hands. His eyes searched the air as he wracked his mind for an answer. “I’m afraid I have no answers at this time, my pharaoh. Your father, the late king Aknamkanon, sacrificed himself that you might not be punished for his crimes, for he had unwittingly allowed for the creation of the cursed items. His blessing ought to have righted all wrongs belonging to them, lifting any curses that might have been given power. Unless a new evil has arisen, I know of no force capable of causing such a thing. I know of no power that might erase you from your world.”

Atem wiped his stinging eyes with the back of his hand. “If I had known this would happen, I never would have come. Mahad, until now I did not know the pain of being forgotten. I must apologize to you and to our friends once more, for now I have even greater reason to. If I have inflicted even a fraction of this pain on you in my forgetting, I am truly sorry. I know now there in no pain more terrible than that of being forgotten.”

“Even in the depths of despair, my king speaks with a noble tongue,” the magician said, his echoing voice filled with a deep and rumbling pride. “Do not despair. I will be by your side always, guiding you from inside your heart. When I return to the court, I will bring news of you to your advisors. Together, we will work to discover the cause of this, and we will find a solution. But you must be strong, for we cannot fight if you have given up.”

Atem swallowed another sob and nodded, slowly regaining his composure. This was all he needed. He just needed a familiar voice, speaking kindly. He needed the freedom to say a name he loved without it being torn away from him.

“Thank you, Mahad,” he said.

“We wish only for your happiness, my king.”

Atem shook his head. “Remember what I said,” he pleaded. “No more.”

A smile graced the Dark Magician’s face. He bowed his head and stood, slowly rising to his original position. “As you wish, my friend.” The image slowly started to settle itself once more, leaving their conversation so brief. “My magic is still weak, so I have only enough time left to wish you luck. I will see you again, Atem,” he said. Then, the Dark Magician remained still, a final wish echoing in the silence of the room. “Be strong,” the voice said. And the room was still again.

Atem sat, leaning against the wall. His hands absently reached for his chest, but the familiar chain of the puzzle was not there. Instead, he clenched his shirt, forcing himself to breathe deeply, to calm down. He trusted Mahad to discover what went wrong. Until then, he would do what he could to help his friends remember. He would not give up this fight—not after all they had been through.

He waited until his legs stopped shaking and he rose. He looked up at the portrait with clear eyes and bowed. “I’ll make you proud,” he promised. “You will not have to solve this alone.” With a renewed determination, he set off in search of the elevator to take him back to Pegasus’ office.

 

Kaiba had gone off to the lobby to have a moment alone with his thoughts. Despite the strange doubt he felt, he was sure of his own mind. He had never duelled Atem. But then why should duelling Yugi suddenly feel so unfulfilling? He watched the footage again, studying the face of his opponent. The feed was broadcast on every monitor in the building, not at all unusual to the employees who stood nearby. It was common for the monitors to display either news stations on tv, live duelling broadcasts, or highlights of old duels. But Kaiba knew Pegasus was doing this for his benefit. He watched Yugi summon his god card, staring intently at his every feature. It was Yugi, but it wasn’t Yugi. Those eyes captured his attention, just as Atem’s eyes did in every duel since the start of the tournament. Again, Kaiba felt the inexplicable pull. He knew this was it. He _knew_ this was what he’d been looking for. He’d never seen such passion in a duel, never seen someone throw their heart and soul into every motion with a vivacity that so perfectly mirrored his own, but he could not bring himself to believe in something so occult. If Atem were truly so important, why should he forget? No matter what happened, he was sure he could not forget Mokuba, and that was the strongest bond he could hope to have. Where did the truth lay?

There was one way to know.

Kaiba kept a record of every duel he’d ever fought. He had archives of data: security footage, broadcasts, and social media recordings, even personal footage from a micro camera in his coat. He’d invented the camera itself: the smallest of its kind, completely undetectable. He’d started the habit of wearing one long ago when his stepfather was alive in order to use the footage to testify his abuse in court should he ever have need. Once he’d been too young, too afraid to use it, but he kept it to remember, to remind himself of what he must never become. Those files secretly recorded by his personal camera he could trust above all scrutiny. An hour or two of research would show him the truth of the matter. But Pegasus’s words whispered the truth to him—a truth he refused to hear. _You know better_.

He slowly walked back to the elevator, intending to return to Pegasus’ office to wait for Atem. He still had a duty to fulfill and he had not yet requested a replacement to take up his charge. Until then, Atem was still under his care. As he walked, a dark shape caught his eye. He looked to the side and saw a figure sitting in the museum, back to the wall. It was Atem. Though further away, Kaiba could see the puffy redness of his eyes. A flash of anger struck him and he grit his teeth. The sudden reaction startled him and he took a step back. He had just felt something in defense of this stranger, had wanted retribution from the one who caused such an expression to appear on his face. And yet, he was the cause. The doubt crept forward in his thoughts. What could cause there to be such an earnest expression apart from true grief? He faltered in his resolve, if only a little. Perhaps his heart knew something his mind could not remember. If Pegasus was right, he hated to think what Atem must be feeling. A bond he could not recall had been described to him of such a strength he could not fathom. To lose that … it was beyond even his imagination.

He watched Atem rise to his feet and he quickly hid behind one of the many decorative pillars that lined the museum entrance, not ready to confront him. He listened to Atem’s footsteps approach and pass, and he saw him enter the elevator. Kaiba waited until he was out of sight before calling the elevator back down, following after. The door to Pegasus’ office remained open as before, and from far away, he saw Atem walk through. Kaiba approached the office with silent footsteps and waited just beyond the wall, listening and waiting. He would let Atem say whatever he needed to say to Pegasus in private before making himself known.

Pegasus was sitting at his easel again, staring at his canvas. He had a hand to his cheek and was leaning forward on his knees, looking distant. “Oh Cecilia. I’m afraid I’ve gone and made a mess of things,” he mumbled. It was then that he heard the pharaoh’s footsteps at his door and raised his head. “You’ve returned,” he said, a hint of surprise in his voice. “I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again.”

“I … ” Atem didn’t know what to say, what excuse to give or apology to make.

Pegasus mercifully interrupted with an apology of his own. “You must forgive me. I’m afraid I may have misled you earlier.” He bowed his head low, only a few feet from his desk.

Atem frowned. “In what way?”

Pegasus straightened again. “I gave you false hope, my boy. Though I suppose you’re no longer a boy, are you? You’ve grown, all of you, since we first met.” He smiled and opened a new drawer in his desk, pulling from it a brown notebook. He held it up for Atem to see. “I have no memory of you but that which I’ve borrowed from myself,” he explained. “I discovered you in these pages. In my retirement, I’d grown weary of architecture and luxury design, and I was searching for a new project to occupy my waning interest. I decided the time had come to digitize my diary, immortalizing my life on my computer for the purpose of one day writing my memoirs. I even indulged in the idea of publishing an early life memoir—for one so young, haven’t I lived an impressively entertaining life?” Pegasus caught himself beginning a tangent of self-flattery and brought himself back, regaining his serious tone. “But haven’t we all. I digress. As I was reading my diary, I came across the entries I’d made before the start of Duellist Kingdom, when I received word of Kaiba’s first defeat. Until then, he’d been the reigning Duel Monsters World Champion. With my tournament fast approaching and word of Yugi’s victory spreading through the Duel Monsters community, I decided to take advantage of the historic upset and invite him to join my tournament as an honored guest. A rising underdog with an unknown name was just what my tournament needed to spread the popularity of my game to new found glory and bring it into mainstream entertainment. So I did my research in order to reach out to him and bring him to my island.”

Pegasus glanced at the picture frame on his desk. He ghosted a hand over his left eye and leaned back in his chair. “It was a desperate time for me. I had been searching for years for a way to reunite with my darling Cecilia to no avail. The millennium eye allowed me to see her again, however briefly, and the spark of madness I gained from her loss became an engulfing flame. I had known about the items from my time in Egypt, researching the powers that could defy the veil between life and death, and I knew of the millennium puzzle. I knew that the wearer of such an artifact could host a spirit long dead, and in my folly, I thought it might host the spirit of my choosing. When I saw that Yugi Mutou possessed this item, my desire that he should join my tournament warped into a scheme to steal the puzzle from him in order to bring back my beloved wife. And during our duel, I discovered you, the spirit of the millennium puzzle, but my madness continued undeterred, believing that I could expel you and still use the puzzle for my original purpose, combined with Kaiba’s solid vision system to bring Cecilia home to me.”

“I’m sorry my puzzle could never have given you that which you wished for so strongly. I myself am missing those I love most dearly,” Atem said. His voice quavered nearly undetectable. “Even those who are so close I could touch them.”

Kaiba closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

“I may have no memory of you, but I trust my own hand,” Pegasus said. “I know what I’ve written in my diary to be true. But, always the businessman, I did my research before marrying myself to any one belief. And now that you’ve related to me the conclusion of your ceremonial duel, I know all the facts, and I know now what a great debt I owe to you for all you’ve done for myself and this world.”

Pegasus carefully swept the god cards from his desk and carried them to Atem. “Here. I released a great evil once when I made these cards. The smallest of my sins have been washed away by your hands. These belong with you, now and always.”

“All but one,” Atem said, caressing the edge of a single card.

Pegasus covered his hands gently. “He may have forgotten you, but I know a part of him remembers. Just as surely as I will one day be reunited with my beloved Cecilia, you and he will find each other.”

Atem shook his head. “What strange comparisons you make,” he said.

Pegasus smiled. “You know better,” he replied.

“I’m afraid I only know myself and the longing I knew in the spirit realm. If my friends should never remember me, I’m afraid I’ll live an empty life. However, I have some comfort now, knowing I have a friend in you.”

“I wasn’t speaking of your school friends, but if you wish me to remain ignorant, I shall pretend. For awhile at least.” He patted Atem’s hands and retreated to his desk, whereupon he sat in his chair with a businesslike manner. “Now then, since we’ve finished our little heart-to-broken-heart, I brought you here because I have a proposition. While I know that I certainly can never repay my debt to you, I can comfort myself in helping you settle your life here in Japan. I’ve prepared all the forms to identify you in our government from your birth certificate to your citizen ID,” he said, sliding a folder across his desk. “I did a little work with the file system at Domino General Hospital and made a few files go ‘missing’ the other day during a system transfer. Yours will ‘reappear’ in a few hour’s time. I have a college degree for you from a local university if you like, and a few professors on stand by sworn to give you excellent recommendations and glowing letters should you decide to attend a grad school. If you wish to pursue an education, I will hire whatever tutors you deem necessary—I’m afraid I haven’t the faintest clue what subjects you studied in ancient Egypt, but whatever they were, I’m sure you’ll need an updated lesson. I have made an account in your name into which I have placed a generous monthly allowance to allow you to begin your new life. If you prefer to earn a salary, I wish to become your sponsor in this tournament. As my champion, you would be required to duel to the end of the tournament, making appearances on national tv in interviews by my side, as well as for the occasional promotion for local businesses and a commercial or two for my own enterprises. If you wish to continue duelling professionally, I will help you accomplish this feat.”

Atem felt a bit overwhelmed by all the information thrust upon him, but no more so than in any other situation. He was quite used to being handed into overwhelming situations. At least in this case there were no lives at stake. He took the file and bowed. “Thank you, Pegasus. This is all very generous of you.”

“Not at all. I’m comforting myself in the wake of an unpayable debt. That is all.”

“Whatever debts you imagine are between us, I leave to your judgement. I am grateful to you all the same, for your generosity and your friendship.”

A touch of pink lit up Pegasus’ cheeks and he looked away. “You make friends so impulsively. I could be manipulating you again and you would never think to suspect me, would you? We have no friendly past to build upon.”

“No,” Atem agreed, “but I can sense a change in you, and I choose to believe in the bonds of friendship, however new and frail they might be.”

“Oh dear, not one of those friendship speeches, please. I’d rather hear it from Miss Gardner; she’s had more practice in the inspiring style. Yours are so much more forceful from what I’ve seen during your duels with our friend Kaiba-boy.”

Atem laughed for the first time in what felt like days. “I suppose I should go and find him. If he’s still around, I’ll need a ride back to the hostel.” Atem stopped before he exited the office and turned. “On the chance that he’s left … ?”

“He won’t have. But I’ll make you the empty promise of a car.”

Atem nodded and continued toward the elevator.

Pegasus smiled as he watched the elevator doors close behind him. He waited a moment before addressing the silence outside his office. “You can come out now.” A moment passed before Kaiba stepped reluctantly into view. “There you are. I don’t need my millennium eye to see you sneaking down the hall.”

Kaiba grunted and leaned against the doorway. “I wasn’t hiding from you,” he said.

“No, you weren’t,” Pegasus agreed. He began to flip showily through a series of papers on his desk. “Well then, now that I’ve spooked you with a lot of superstitious nonsense and indulged the complex fantasies of a surely deranged maniac living in a complex delusional world, I suppose you’ll be wanting a replacement to take over guarding him?” His playful mocking tone irritably suggested that he already knew the decision Kaiba had made.

Kaiba almost wanted to take him up on his offer for pure spite. “And what if I do?”

“Then I’ll be very disappointed,” Pegasus concluded.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, watching Pegasus ignore him, uncharacteristically absorbing himself in a lot of paperwork. He shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re full of shit,” he grumbled.

“To my very tip,” Pegasus sang.

Kaiba scoffed and strode out of the room. While he waited for the elevator, he texted his driver. It was time to take Atem home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My internet was out for two days, so here's a gift to celebrate my return. Let me know if you spot any mistakes. And now your suspicions are debunked: Pegasus is a friend and ally. I love him and I'll make him a good guy if I want. Anyone who argues otherwise will be banished to the Shadow Realm for all eternity.
> 
> Also, why does anything written in italics automatically gain a blank space in front of it when I hit publish? I'm getting tired of manually changing this with every new chapter. It's making me look bad, y'all.


	4. Desperation

“Celebrity duellists?” Atem asked.

It was the first time he’d spoken during the ride to the hostel. Kaiba would have remained silent as well, but Pegasus would not stop texting until he’d read the proposal. Pegasus would know if he hadn’t. Even with his glasses being buried in his pocket, the camera blocked, the microphone couldn’t be so easily got rid of. He’d have to rip it from his collar, and frankly he’d rather not spoil his favorite coat. _Well, second favorite_ , he thought. His Blue Eyes coat he’d put away the day he’d locked up his duelling deck. The coat he now wore was more plain by comparison, with regular shoulders and a real pair of sleeves, no flashy spiked folds or round metal studs. However, being who he was, he wore a number of decorative belts.

Kaiba held his arm out and tilted his phone towards Atem. “That’s part of the challenge. During the second week, celebrity duellists are invited to duel participants in districts eight and above. According to their ranking, they’ll be given a certain number of star chips, but no more than five to each. They’ll each have an assigned color to distinguish themselves. If you win a match and don’t lose the chip to someone else, you’ll receive a special prize at the end of the tournament; something more significant than the prize for being in the top hundred.”

“Hm,” Atem grunted. He turned back to the window.

Kaiba put his phone in his pocket and sat back in his seat, his job done. For now, Atem was content to ignore him, and that was fine; it made it easier to ignore him in return. He wanted to get to the bottom of the situation before he formed any solid opinions of his character. Even so, it was difficult to suppress the strange feeling being ignored was giving him. He was used to being ignored by plenty of people; many of the people he worked with in the business world had disregarded him for years. But with Atem, he felt strained, even disappointed that he was not offered the slightest bit of attention, even a token glance at this distance. It was unlike him and he wrote it off as nerves. Atem ignoring him meant that he was upset with him— he simply didn’t like people being upset with him. Angry, he could deal with. Upset? In this case, it was a particular kind of feeling that was too close to home—like when Mokuba gave him the cold shoulder for cancelling plans.

“You’ll need that ID Pegasus gave you to pick up your duel disk at the station,” Kaiba said. He pointed to the box of things Pegasus had given him. Inside were a number of folders and loose papers. “Be sure you take it out before we arrive. You can leave the rest at the hostel when we head to the station.”

Atem rifled wordlessly through the box. He pulled out a black billfold and found the ID already tucked inside. Pegasus had helpfully provided a library card, an expired student ID with a worn picture and magnetic stripe, an old grocery receipt, and several mixed coins as well: all little bits and pieces one might expect to see in a wallet that needed cleaning out. Even the edges of the billfold were frayed, just as if he’d been using it for years. Pegasus was admirably thorough. He tucked the wallet away just as the car pulled up to the front of the hostel lobby.

“There should be a phone in there too,” Kaiba added. “If we ever get separated, you can use it t—” but Atem had already left the car, slamming the door behind him.

It was the last day in week one of the Domino Duel District Tournament and Atem was a full day of duelling behind. He was wasting no time. Atem dropped in long enough to put away the box, not lingering to look through any more of it. He’d have plenty of time for that when the curfew kicked in. In the car, Pegasus had sent Kaiba the formal sponsorship information. Provided that Atem collected his last star chip and entered the eighth district by the end of the day, he’d make the announcement the next morning while introducing the celebrity duellists. All he had to do was go to the station to collect his things and he could get back to the duelling grounds.

He’d never been to a police station before. In fact, he hadn’t dealt much with police at all during his time with Yugi, which reflected the sorry state of the police force at large, considering the number of dangerous and illicit activities that went on previously in Domino. In the past week, he’d seen more police and security than he had during all the time he’d spent connected to the puzzle. Obviously they’d become more aware of their failings over the years. That or they’d gotten more funding.

Atem moved through the process of collecting his things with minimal input. The process was slow and there was a great deal of work behind presenting his identification, much to his annoyance. The day had been dragging on for quite some time. Twice he’d checked the clock on the wall already, worry rising as the time passed. Duels took time. In the end, he retrieved a plastic bag containing his belongings, nearly an hour sacrificed for it. With a respectful bow, they were headed back out the door toward the waiting car. He was quick to slip the duel disk on his arm again and insert his deck, not bothering to look through his cards to check that they were all accounted for, such was his hurry. Besides, he had other reasons for wanting the day to end quickly.

Atem won his final star chip in short order. He practically barreled out of the car in his hurry and sprinted to the seventh gate. Kaiba had to chase after him. Atem presented his duel disk at the gate and was allowed entry, Kaiba trailing behind only long enough to flash his security badge. He was becoming increasingly frustrated with Atem’s blatant attempts to ignore him, going so far as to cut him off mid-sentence and put actual yards between them. And still running, Atem rushed before the first duellist he came across and breathlessly demanded a duel. It was the first time he’d initiated a duel since the very start.

This duel was different from the others. He didn't speak—there was no banter or friendly encouragement. He didn’t smile. He didn’t react to any lost life points or surprise traps. He played dispassionately, staring at the field, as if he wasn’t watching the unfolding events at all. The fact of the matter was, he was numb to all that was happening around him. He wasn’t even thinking of anything in particular. He was only staring deliberately at nothing, trying not to feel what he’d felt earlier, kneeling by the painting in the museum. And he was trying to duel quickly and end this long day. The districts closed in two hours. He didn’t have time to think. And he didn’t want to.

His opponent was annoyingly defensive, eating away at time like a starving cuckoo. Atem wasn’t trying to stay until closing—he wanted to leave! He wanted to be by himself awhile, to sleep and start fresh in the morning. Finally grown tired of duelling listlessly, he began to duel with purpose, throwing down his cards a little more forcefully than intended, but he didn’t notice.

Kaiba did. He’d watched with a growing unease from the start of the duel. This was the first legitimate match he’d been able to watch so closely and he couldn’t enjoy a moment of it. There was no fire in Atem’s eyes. For half the duel, he barely even glanced at his cards. And now, he duelled with anger. Where there was usually respect for his opponent and an expression of interest there was now only vexation, as if he was not trying to beat a worthy opponent, but clear away a troublesome obstacle. Kaiba hated to watch him duel with such a foreign attitude and nearly looked away, but something caught his attention. His brow twitched as he watched Atem. His eyes were shiny—wet.

Atem accepted the new star chip without ceremony and his opponent rushed off to find another duel before the day was over, not bothering to stay long enough to congratulate Atem or say goodbye. That was the way duels went in the final hour. Nobody bothered with formalities. But Kaiba knew that Atem would under normal circumstances—it was the fact that he didn’t make an effort that bothered him. When the duellist left, Kaiba approached Atem, who was already walking away.

“Hey. You ought to have more respect for the people you duel,” he said.

Atem slowed down, but he did not react.

Kaiba frowned, but let himself be lead back to the seventh gate. “Put that chip on your duel disk before you lose it,” he grumbled.

Atem stashed it in his pocket, not bothering to heed his advice.

“That’s it,” Kaiba said. He stopped. “What is your deal? You haven’t looked my direction once in over three hours. You’ve spoken two words to me since we left the office. Now I’m gonna need more than a grunt or a shrug before we go anywhere else.” Kaiba’s phone began to ring, but he ignored it and let it go off. “Now what are we doing? Are we calling back the car? Are you walking all the way back to the hostel? Are you even going anywhere at all?”

Atem had paused to let Kaiba speak, but now now he pressed forward again, refusing to look back. Kaiba’s phone began to ring again as he leapt forward, catching Atem by the arm.

“I’m not done with you! Until I call a replacement, I’m your guard, and I need to know what you plan to do and where you plan to go! You can’t just go wandering off without me. Last time I got separated from you, you were lead away into a secluded area and nearly got yourself electrocuted to death! You’re in the public eye again, vulnerable to an attack either by that Heidi or the media, and believe me, the media is the worse enemy. So drop the attitude before we get too close to a camera. Whatever spat we’re having needs to be resolved now before you end up taking it out on someone else again like you did with that last kid. Now talk to me! Shout at me if you have to, but acknowledge me in some way!”

“Like you acknowledged me?” Atem said.

Kaiba froze.

Atem instinctually clutched at his shirt, at the empty space where his puzzle once hung, his hand shaking. He was tired. He just wanted Kaiba to stop talking. “I was part of Yugi for a long time, a time so eventful and restless that I’m not even sure how long it was. During that time, you and I fought countless battles as allies and enemies, but not once did you acknowledge me. I was always Yugi to you, even when I was known to everyone else. There were times when you went so far as to deny me, as you do now, though now I cannot begrudge you your suspicions as once before. I find it frustrating in that regard that I may keep to myself for an hour or two and you demand such a thing so quickly. I have never denied you in any way, but I wished to be alone just for a little while, to give me time to process all that I’ve learned today. And to grieve what I’ve lost.” He pried Kaiba’s hand off his arm slowly, purposefully. “Though what I’ve lost was not mine long except, perhaps, for a few short hours.”

Kaiba’s phone rang a third time as he stared at Atem’s back, unhearing.

“You’d better answer; that’s Mokuba’s ringtone,” Atem said. He started walking again, his steps unhurried.

Startled, Kaiba took out his phone. Mokuba’s name lit up the screen. As he answered, he wondered how Atem would have known, desperately trying to come to any other logical conclusion than the one Pegasus had presented, but it was becoming harder and harder to do.

Mokuba’s voice rang out excited on the other end. “Seto! I was worried you had your phone on silent for a minute there!”

“No, I heard you. I was just a bit busy,” Kaiba replied, not really hearing him. He walked a few paces behind Atem, unsure what he should do next. As he followed, stuck in his own head, Mokuba bombarded him with the details of his day.

“I had lunch on the roof today with some friends of mine, trying to get in the last bit of sunshine before the weather gets cold again. The news said the wind is picking up again tomorrow and there’ll be some clouds coming in later on. I wanted to come watch the tournament with Teá again tomorrow, but I’m worried it might rain. Those duellists better carry umbrellas soon or their cards are gonna get soaked! We were even worried it might rain today and we mostly watched the stadium duels just in case. What district are you in? I’ll come find you.” There was some muffled chatter from the receiver as Mokuba held the phone away, talking to someone in the background. “Sorry about that. Teá and the others are leaving soon and she wants me to tell you she says hi. Joey said something too, but nothing polite enough to repeat in public.”

“Tell that dog to stop yapping,” Kaiba grunted. He and Atem were passing through the seventh gate. “I’m leaving district seven now, on my way to the car. It should be pulling up soon. I told the driver to be here just before curfew.”

“Cool. The gang and I are in district two, headed towards the hostels to drop off Mako. He landed at the docks an hour ago but he got lost in the city on his way. We had to find him and show him how to get here—he’s got a bit too much water in his brain! How he ever got an invite, I’ll never know, but I guess if Joey can get in then anybody can be a celebrity duellist.” Mokuba laughed. “By the way, Pegasus called earlier just before I met up with everyone. He wanted to invite me to duel too, but I turned him down. Watching some of the duels here in the lower district, I’m thinking that I might not have enough experience just yet, and I don’t want to make a fool of myself in my first tournament. I might join in the next one instead.”

“You can join if you want,” Kaiba insisted, suddenly back in the present. He couldn’t let his brother talk himself down. “You’ve been duelling for a year now—that’s plenty of experience.”

“Maybe for you— _you_ were world champion when you were my age.”

“I was champion at _sixteen_ , not fifteen. Don’t exaggerate the facts to make a point. And remember who taught you to play. I’ve seen the people out here duelling and you could wipe the floor with them. You’ve got a head start. Besides, you’re a Kaiba, not some nameless duellist. You’ve been watching and studying the game since it was made.”

“Well, he says I’ve got until tomorrow’s announcements to change my mind. I was thinking we could talk it over at dinner. I hope you don’t have anything in mind yet. Joey and Mako just finished a practice duel and Mako used a bunch of fish-monster cards—now I want to go somewhere with good grilled fish tonight. Maybe some calamari. Or fried shrimp. Actually, do you know of any seafood buffet nearby?”

Kaiba looked at the back of Atem’s head. It was closer than before, as if Atem were lingering back to listen. “We can look for one. I just have to sort something out first.”

“Well you’d better hurry up. I skipped having a snack so we could get an early dinner and I’m getting hungry. And be ready to do a lot of talking! I brought my deck with me so we can talk strategy! Do you think I could borrow one of your Blue Eyes?”

“Over my dead body,” Kaiba replied. He distinctly heard a choked snort in front of him.

“Fine, but I’m taking your Crush Card Virus.”

“Mokuba, don’t go rooting through my deck. Take your cards from one of the collection cases. I’m sure there’s another Crush Card Virus in one of them. There’s no need to take mine.”

“Why? It’s not like you’re using them,” Mokuba protested.

“That’s not the point. I won’t tell you again.”

“But Seto, it’s my first tournament! And think of the publicity we’ll get! Everyone’s been waiting for an appearance by Blue Eyes for three years! If I coul—”

“Just—!” Kaiba stopped himself and took a deep breath. He sighed, pushing a hand over his eyes. He forced himself to relax. “ … Just leave my deck alone,” he said. “It’s put away for a reason.”

Mokuba paused. The was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. “I understand,” he said. “I’ll see you at the hostel.”

“See you there.” Kaiba watched the screen of his phone turn black, the call ended. He knew Mokuba wouldn’t go against his word, but he still worried. He’d locked his deck away in his desk and preferred not to think about it. Mokuba had tried many times to get him duelling again, had once tried to open the drawer and force him to look through his old cards, but Kaiba had shut him down. He even suspected deep down that Mokuba had picked up Duel Monsters in order to spark his interest again. And yet, Mokuba had not asked him yet to duel. It was too soon.

“Hey,” Kaiba said.

Atem turned his head a fraction to one side, giving him his ear.

Kaiba faltered. It was too soon to talk to him, but he had to interrupt the silence, just for a moment. “Mokuba’s expecting me for dinner soon. Whatever plans you have, I’ll need to send someone over before I leave. If you don’t mind, I’ll drive you to the hostel to meet with the new guards.”

Atem nodded and turned away again.

Kaiba opened his mouth to speak, but thought the better of it. Instead, he looked at his phone. He sent a quick text to Pegasus to have the guards brought in. “Mokuba will be out front when we arrive,” he said. “Just him. The others are leaving before we get there.” He remembered what Atem said that morning: he didn’t want to meet the others just yet. Besides, he’d just finished saying he’d wanted time alone. Even if Yugi’s friends waited with Mokuba and it meant dropping Atem off behind the building, then he’d give him that time.

Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. Mokuba was waiting in the lobby when they arrived, standing with a group of duellists in the sitting area, trading cards. The night guards were waiting politely at a table nearby. Mokuba had been watching a trade with interest before Kaiba entered.

“Seto!” Mokuba called. He jogged up to him at the door and held a card up. “Check it out! I just traded for this: Card Ejector! I’ve been getting great cards all day, especially once we hit up district six. There’s nothing better for a card collector than an international competition.”

Kaiba visibly cringed. “It looks like a baby Dark Magician,” he said.

“Yeah. I thought Yugi might like it. He’s got a bit of a spellcaster collection.”

“It looks like she has the Dark Magician Girl’s wand and the Dark Magician’s hat. They’re very similar at least.”

Kaiba and Mokuba turned to look at Atem. He was leaning in to look at the card, fascinated. “So, they’re still making Dark Magician variant cards…” he mumbled, holding his chin. He wondered how Mahad would feel if he knew. The child portrayed in Card Ejector looked like the lovechild of the two iconic magician counterparts of his friends back in the afterlife.

“Hey. Do I know you?” Mokuba asked.

Atem flinched and looked up at Mokuba for the first time. His eyes widened. Mokuba was nearly as tall as him now and his voice had changed. His hair was shorter now, more styled. He looked older—startlingly so. He’d missed watching the change over time and the difference was dramatic. It occurred to him now that Mokuba had not thrown himself into his older brother’s arms in greeting the way he’d always done before. He had grown.

“What?” Atem asked, dumbfounded.

“You look familiar,” Mokuba said.

Kaiba stared at Mokuba in disbelief. “This is Atem, the rising underdog from the news. You’ve probably seen some of his duels. If that doesn’t ring a bell, you might be confusing him with Yugi. They look similar.”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Mokuba replied, brushing his answer aside. “I mean, have we met before?”

Atem didn’t know what to answer.

Mokuba stared at Atem standing beside his brother. Something clicked. Kaiba was right: he’d seen Atem’s televised duels, but there was something strange about seeing him in person. The ease with which he stood at his brother’s side caught his attention: there were not many people who could stand next to him without either cowering or groveling, and Atem was doing neither. His brother didn’t seem to notice, which was all the more telling. And even he felt comfortable standing in front of this stranger. It was the same feeling he got when he was with his friends.

Kaiba felt his resolve crumble. Mokuba was the final straw. It didn’t matter whether or not he’d reviewed his private footage yet: if Mokuba felt that same strange familiarity, he could trust in that. He could trust in Mokuba. He turned to look at Atem and saw his eyes begin to turn glossy. There was no faking the depth of emotion he saw. Atem’s hands were shaking. He saw his hesitation. He stepped in.

“Maybe,” Kaiba said.

Atem turned to look at him. He was so shocked, he stopped tearing up.

“Are you and Yugi related?” Mokuba asked, leaning closer. He began to unload questions rapidly, completely at ease. “You look like you could be cousins or something—he never mentioned having any siblings. You couldn’t be so distantly related though, from the look of you, though you don’t look Japanese. Is your skin naturally dark or are you just tan? You don’t look like you’ve got a gyaru fashion sense.” He looked pointedly at Atem’s clothes. “That’s weird. You look older than Yugi—why are you wearing a Domino High uniform? Is it a branding thing like the stuff Joey wears?”

“I—I don’t have any other clothes,” Atem said robotically. He had not truly heard or registered what had been asked. He was still processing what Kaiba had said. _Maybe._

“I guess what Mako said was right: it’s impossible to find an empty washing machine with all the travelling duellists coming in. But why even pack a school uniform?”

Mercifully, Kaiba began pointing Mokuba towards the exit. “It’s rude to talk about people’s clothes, Mokuba.”

“I’m not listening to that from the guy who says ‘nice outfit’ to everyone he sees,” Mokuba chided.

“I raised you to be better than me,” Kaiba replied. “It’s time for dinner so get a move on. You’ve bothered Atem enough. He has a full day of duelling ahead of him tomorrow as a sponsored duellist and it’s time he had a good rest. He just got out of the hospital this morning.”

Mokuba dragged his feet, looking back at Atem over his shoulder. “What happened? Oh. He’s the one you’re guarding right?”

“That remains to be seen.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The door closed behind them before Atem could respond. It’s likely he would have remained standing there, staring at the door, had one of the guards not approached him.

“Will you be going out again, sir?” The guard asked, bowing his head politely.

“I’m sorry?” Atem said, refocusing.

“Going out, sir?”

Atem shook his head. “No. Forgive me, I’m a bit distracted at the moment. I’ll be retiring to my room.” He turned and began walking toward the community sleeping areas.

The guard stopped him. “I beg your pardon, sir. Pegasus has relocated you to a small private room. Your things have already been prepared. We hope you will not find your new quarters too confining.”

“Oh. Please, lead on. I’ll follow.” Atem bowed slightly.

“This way, sir.”

The other guard followed behind as they walked down a short hallway past the communal sleeping. The frontmost guard opened one of the doors with a key, handing it to Atem as he made his way inside. The room was small, only a little larger than a wash closet, and it had one window. There was a bed in the corner and a small desk and open closet. His box of things rested on the desktop, waiting to be sorted through. It was cramped, but not uncomfortable. It was private enough for his needs.

“Mr. Pegasus wanted to move you to a nicer facility—a hotel or a loft, if you liked. He will call you for another meeting soon to discuss your preferences. He wished not to disturb you abruptly. Rest well. Pegasus will meet with you in the early morning to prepare for the announcement. We’ll wake you at six.”

“Thank you,” Atem said. “I appreciate his generosity.”

“Let us know if you need anything. We’ll be just outside, sir.”

“Goodnight, sir,” the second guard said. The two of them bowed together before leaving to guard the door.

Atem fell back on the bed, taking a deep breath. It _had_ been a long day. However, he felt hopeful now. If Mokuba knew him, or even just recognized him, it was possible Yugi might. He was still afraid, but he would steel himself. He’d had practice today. And Kaiba had conceded, if only partly. It would be easier for Yugi to accept him. In time, whatever happened, he was sure he could fix this. Mahad was looking into things; together, they would find a solution. He sat up. Alright. It was time to rejoin the world of the living. He retrieved the box of documents and began emptying the folders on the floor, sitting cross-legged before them. He was determined to do what he could. If everyone else was working hard, it was his duty to follow suit. He’d had his moment of weakness. It was time to be pharaoh.

 

  
Kaiba woke up feeling strange but rested. His computer lay beside him in a mess of sheets, the charger unplugged and halfway down the bed. He rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly, recalling the images he found in his search. There was no denying the evidence his personal camera presented. He’d seen every detail from Battle City and beyond. In truth, he had begun to believe since Mokuba first showed recognition, but now he had the proof he needed. Atem was real.

At first, he had put off his research of Atem in favor of searching Domino security footage for Heidi. He was both impressed and disturbed by her easy manipulation of his solid vision system. He couldn’t find a single image of her true face anywhere. The pictures he’d managed to take with his phone were their best bet. He tried running them through a number of facial recognition programmes, but to no result. However, in his search, he had come across something far more startling. While accessing one of the traffic cameras from a large intersection in downtown Domino, he had seen Atem’s sudden arrival.

Atem materialized in the middle of a crowd, on his knees, and nobody had seen or walked into him. They went on their way, not minding or acknowledging the appearance of the stranger in the center of the crosswalk. He watched from each traffic camera on the intersection, seeing him appear over and over, from different angles out of thin air. It was then that he began searching through the public recordings of Duellist Kingdom and Battle City. He searched in a starving frenzy for hours, long after he ought to have slept. This was how Heidi had found Atem, he remembered. He had heard her speech in the back room of the ice cream parlor. _Seeker_.

He began to compile as much footage as he could find of the rare hunters in order to find Seeker. He would send the files over to his security team for further exploration. If he could find Seeker, he could find Heidi. It would be some work to uncover their civilian identities, but …

He paused in mid-thought, watching a duel between Joey and the man who posed as Marik Ishtar. He had listened to the talk of Marik in other files. Marik was the one who had organized the rare hunters. He would know their identities. He began searching for him. He watched the disturbing scenes unfold as Marik fought against an evil spirit of his own creation. He watched as he and his family were freed of its control, becoming allies of Atem and his friends, servants of the ancient pharaoh’s tomb. Now that would be convenient. He could simply ask Marik what he needed to know. He grinned. His biggest roadblock opened, he began to relax. He searched through folders of footage at his leisure. He scrolled through many folders with various business-labelled titles such as BC_Prelim_#/## with the dates, all uniformly organized. He scrolled his way to the bottom of the main folder, opening inner folders now and then to watch part of a duel or a chase now and then. At the very bottom was a folder with a label that stood out from the rest. It was simply labelled “Yami.”

He opened the file. He didn’t usually label things so nonspecifically, so simply. Inside were six folders. The names flashed upon his screen: Appearance, DK, BC, Dartz, Personal, and Ceremony. He opened them in order. “Appearance” contained footage from his first duel against Yugi: the first appearance of Atem. “DK” and “BC” contained cut footage from Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, showing footage focusing on Atem. He saw himself cross over to another realm in the folder entitled “Dartz,” summoned by the Dark Magician Girl to claim the power of a legendary dragon. He supposed he’d begun to believe in things at that point, secretly to himself. He’d be too stubborn to ever admit it to anyone else, lest be be proved wrong after all.

His cursor lingered over the file labelled “Personal.” There were scarce few folders that he ever gave such a telling name. He opened it. Inside were more folders. “Deck Contents” contained footage files and a written document of the cards in Yugi’s deck. Two cards were highlighted: Obelisk the Tormentor and Fiend Sanctuary. There were notes accompanying each file of footage, recording his thoughts. Atem had summoned Fiend Sanctuary in the footage, and in his notes he recorded the mix of disbelief he’d felt as Atem had summoned it without looking at the card, knowing the exact card regardless. But he did not write “Atem” in his notes. The name was always Yami. It was the same in every document. Yami, over and over and over. That was what his friends had called him. He opened a folder named “History” and found pictures of an exhibit from the Domino Museum, footage of his meeting with Ishizu, pictures of the Egyptian god cards and translated text, even recordings of the vision realm he’d visited with Atem and the duel therein. There was another folder within “History” with footage of his visit to the false past created by Bakura and a long document detailing the events. Within this file was yet another labelled “Pharaoh.” This contained pictures and footage of Atem as Pharaoh; no documents, no labels. Just him. Some files were marked with a colored label beside them and he opened them. They seemed to contain nothing of importance to Atem’s history. The thing he noted while viewing them was simply that they had the clearest picture.

He backed into the main folder once more, feeling unusually warm. He opened the final folder, “Ceremony.” Inside was one large video file. He opened it and watched a duel unfolding between Atem and Yugi. Atem looked the way he did when he took over Yugi: he was pale and wore Yugi’s clothes. However, he was no longer wearing the millennium puzzle. This was the ceremonial duel Pegasus had spoken of. The footage was shakier than most. He realized the reason was because he’d been moving so much, shifting his weight, leaning forwards when Atem lost life points, leaning back as he reeled himself in again. He could read his own body language, watching the movement of the camera. This time, he did not skip forward in the video. He did not look away. He watched with dry eyes, clenching his teeth.

He pounded the surface of his bed with a fist and hissed, “Why don’t I remember any of this!”

And then the duel was over. He watched and listened as Atem’s friends pleaded with him, conflicted. He watched himself remain silent. There was no way Atem had wanted this, not after all he’d fought for. He didn’t deserve to die. He felt the memory of a rage he could not truly embrace. It was the remnant of an indignity. With his memories, he knew it would be a thousand times stronger, and yet it was already powerful in its magnitude. He watched Atem leave, walking into a blinding light. The camera was completely still until that moment. Then, he saw it move: a step forward. He felt something nagging in the back of his mind. The moment before the step, he felt a tremble run through him. He’d seen something, he knew, in that impossible light. He played the footage over and over, his face to the screen, trying to find it. He adjusted the levels: the brightness, the saturation and exposure. When he found it, it was nearly indiscernible, but it was there. He saw the briefest flash of his eyes as Atem turned back, the doors closing behind him. And he hadn’t looked at Yugi. He hadn’t looked at Grandpa Mutou, Ryou Bakura, or Mokuba. His final gaze did not belong to Teá, Joey, Tristan, or Duke. It wasn’t for Marik, Ishizu, or Odeon. In his final moments, as Atem watched the gateway close, sealing him in, he had looked back at himself.

Despite everything, despite the years he’d spent denying his existence, Atem had looked back at him as the last face he’d seen in the living world. Kaiba wanted to remember when he’d truly begun to believe, but he couldn’t. He wanted to see through his own eyes that final look. He remembered the feeling, even as he’d forgotten the memory. He searched through the labyrinth of folders and files contained in “Yami” and saw the development of something far beyond what little he understood about friendship. This attention to detail he’d always reserved for his inventions, he’d spared on this individual. Just how much had he cared? What was his bond with the pharaoh? With Yami? With Atem.

He felt a large part of him was missing. When had it disappeared? It couldn’t have left the moment Atem had gone, otherwise he would not have been able to remember to put the last video file away in the “Yami” folder. He searched the files in the auto-backup folder. He found the earliest footage and opened it. That would be the next day after the duel. He was sure that if he remembered the next day, he and Yugi would have discussed it, or he and Mokuba at the very least. Mokuba would have many questions. But the day after the duel was without a trace of the event. He simply got up, went to work, and went about his usual business as if nothing had happened. At dinner, Mokuba made no mention of the duel or Atem. He spoke only of the coming holiday from school.

 _The moment we fell asleep, the memory disappeared,_ Kaiba thought. Like resetting. There was magic involved. As Pegasus and Heidi said, it was connected to the puzzle and the other millennium items. They had tumbled into the abyss when the pharaoh's tomb caved in on itself. Would digging them out revive their memories? He desperately wanted to know so many things. He shut off his computer, slapping it closed and tossing it aside. He lay down on top of his sheets and groaned, an arm flung over his eyes. His eyes hurt. If it was as simple as retrieving the items, he’d organize a dig the very next morning. Atem had been mortified to realize he’d gone unrecognized—he wouldn’t know any more than they did. However, he was at the center of all this; through him, there might be a way to fix things. At the very least, he needed to know how he had returned. Once he learned that, he was sure they could work towards reviving their memories. He would not allow himself to forget anything so important. Not forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit later than usual, but I had to help my roommate move his stuff in. Then I had to build a spice rack because the counter was getting messy. On top of that, I had to fix a few things with my class schedule. Anyway, I'm back for regular updates.
> 
> Here's a comic with Pegasus for the 3DT rules:  
> https://dorkmagicianem.tumblr.com/post/182080476910/here-it-is-the-official-rules-for-the-domino-duel


	5. Tension

The television set from the kitchen sent quiet white noise drifting down the hall into the game shop, giving the house a pleasant, lazy hum. The newscaster on the tv smiled in her professional blue suit, standing by the eighth district gate, framed by a crowd of duellists in the background. “News of the forthcoming announcement from Industrial Illusion’s CEO, Maximillion Pegasus, has already begun to travel throughout the city as duellists from around the globe wait patiently for the duel districts to open. Those who have fought their way to the inner city now await the revelation of the rumored celebrity duellist roster and their chance to earn exclusive Duel Monsters merchandise. And speaking of rumors, the word on the street is that the rising underdog duellist known as Atem was seen entering Industrial Illusions headquarters in downtown Domino yesterday morning escorted by security powerhouse Seto Kaiba of the Kaiba Corporation, emerging with a large box in his arms. Could this mean a new sponsorship contract has been made? Speculation is on the rise as the second stage announcement draws near!”

A door opened in the shop and a bell rang as Joey entered. “Hey, Yugi! Gramps!” he called, kicking off his shoes. “You’d better be up and dressed before I get in there. We gotta get a move on with breakfast if we’re getting downtown early. I promised Teá and Tristan we’d meet them at the gate.”

Joey peered into the living room and through to the empty kitchen, searching for Yugi and his grandfather. The newscaster on the TV continued to speak, the picture on screen showing more footage of the crowd. “With an hour on the clock, the duellists are preparing for the newest twist in Mr. Pegasus’ game! To pass the time, we go now to our live countdown program, covering the highlights of last tournament’s most memorable duels. First up we have a rematch of rivals: Joseph ‘Roulette’ Wheeler versus Valon, the Cockney King! These two have been going head to head in recent years in a series of touch-and-go duels. Will one of them be joining the celebrity duellist roster? Find out as we count down to the second stage of the Domino Duel District Tournament!”

Joey hopped over the back of the couch and sank down into the cushions. He pumped a fist in the air, leaning forwards toward the screen. “Alright! Just take a look at that! I’m the first one up on the news—a beautiful face to greet ya first thing in the morning!” He mimicked his movements as footage of his previous duels flashed across the TV, throwing his arms out dramatically as he pretended to lay down cards. He turned and called out towards the stairs. “Hey, Yugi! Get down here and take a gander. I’m kicking Valon’s butt all the way back to Britain!”

Yugi slumped his way down the steps slowly, still groggy with sleep. He’d been up late putting his deck together. “Is that footage from the Toon Town Tournament last year?” he asked. He squinted at the screen and yawned.

“Whoa, somebody needs a cup of coffee,” Joey said, looking him over. “What, did you go hand to hand with a Gazelle King last night?”

Yugi turned on the coffee maker and began pulling out pans and things to make breakfast. “I was just finishing up. And how about you; did you figure it out?”

Joey held his deck up proudly. “I’ve packed this bad boy with a bunch of new trap cards! I also decided Hungry Burger was worth adding in. If it comes up in a duel, I’ll make some nice royalties. It might not be my style of card exactly, but I’m not one to gripe over a free card if it gets me a bit of extra change on the side. I’m nearly at my goal now.” Joey smiled at his deck and fanned out the cards, shuffling through them proudly. When he found Hungry Burger, he stopped to take a look at it, his face glowing with happiness. “This little baby’s gonna pad my sister’s savings and help fix up Ma’s kitchen. Just a bit more time in the spotlight, cashing in on royalties, and Serenity won’t have to worry about college. I’ll be able to afford to send her anywhere and Ma can just relax.”

“That’s great, Joey!” Yugi cheered, more awake. He cracked three eggs into the warm pan and looked over his shoulder as he tossed away the shells. “And what about your Red Eyes? Is it in or out?”

“Are you kidding? Red Eyes in in. With him on the field, I’ll be sure to get plenty of air time, and that means plenty in the next paycheck. Besides, my fans wouldn’t want to miss the chance to see my most iconic cards in play. It’s been ages since I’ve brought him out in such a big-time tournament. It’s expected!”

Joey muted the TV and turned around to watch Yugi cook. He stroked the corner of his deck with a nail, making a loud shuffling sound, as he looked at the back of Yugi’s head. He cleared his throat. “You know,” he began, speaking slowly, pretending to be casual. “It’s been a long time now since you’ve used your Dark Magician. Since you’ve used any of your spellcasters, really.”

Yugi flinched, but he quickly flipped his eggs over, acting as if nothing had happened. “I know what you’re going to say Joey.”

“But Yugi, just imagine how they’d swoon in the crowd! It’d be the talk of the tournament. Even I’d give some of my screen time to see that.”

“No. I’ve put them away and that’s where they’ll stay.”

“But why?” Joey persisted. “What’s been keeping you from using them?”

Yugi put the eggs onto three plates in silence. He was silent still as he crossed to the fridge and riffled through for side dishes. It had been three years since he’d summoned his Dark Magician and his Dark Magician Girl to duel. The public had been asking about them for a long time. So far, he’d been able to evade their questions with half-truths and modest answers. It was true that he’d been experimenting with new cards and strategies for some time now, trying to find different ways to duel. He wanted to give others the opportunity to fight him without his most powerful cards, to make the game more challenging and complex. He’d also wanted to continue to push himself to grow more as a duellist.

At first, that had been a slow and steady challenge. He had fought against Kaiba a number of times, the end moves varying from close calls to absolute havoc on one side. Duelling his rival had kept him sharp and it tested him each step of the way. But just as slowly, he watched Kaiba become less and less interested in their duels: less passionate. It wasn’t the losses that were weighing on him. It wasn’t a predictability. Yugi did his best to push Kaiba to grow just as they’d always done for each other, but Kaiba eventually began to decline duels where he’d once sought them out mercilessly, until he stopped duelling altogether.

None of those were the reason. Once he had kept his deck and his favorite cards in a special gold box his grandfather had given him years ago, found during one of his many adventures in the field. Now only his spellcasters resided there. Whenever he played either card, he felt a strange and sullen feeling. When their projected images lit up the arena, they became life-like, but with a quality unlike any other card he played. Nobody ever seemed to notice. At first, he had dismissed it. KaiabCorp’s solid vision system was always upgrading, creating newer, better projections with updated monster models. At first, it was easy enough, but every time he caught the gaze of the Dark Magician, he felt as if he were looking into the eyes of someone living, someone he knew. And the Dark Magician Girl almost appeared to hesitate for an instant after being summoned, looking back at him. Just a moment when they were projected, then things were normal again, the duels went on, but he never could shake the odd sensation.

It was several months ago that he began to have strange dreams. He never could remember them once he opened his eyes, but the feeling lingered long after. It frightened him, waking him up in the middle of the night. He felt empty. For a few moments after waking, he was sure that there would be nobody home when he went to look, but he looked, and his grandfather was always there in his room, sleeping peacefully. Even so, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, knowing he was there, it never helped the feeling go away. It still felt as though someone were missing. He never missed his father much while he was away on business; he was only a call away. His mother was in her room, sleeping just as soundly. Everyone was accounted for, and yet something was wrong. On these nights, Yugi would lie awake and look through his cards to distract himself. He thought it might be possible that he had fewer than before, or he’d perhaps misplaced some over the years, and this felt closer to the truth of the matter, but nothing was ever resolved. Once he hesitated, holding the golden box in his hands. He did not open it.

Nowadays, Yugi did not duel casually. He accepted invitations to events and tournaments, but he no longer sought them out directly. On occasion, he would duel his friends in the privacy of his home, no holograms or projected audio. It was his obligation to the public that brought him out. Somehow, he felt a sense of guilt when he looked through his deck, and he tried to wrap up each duel quickly, wondering where his passion had gone. He began to rise out of his stupor as he collected new cards and formed a new deck, but in the back of his mind the feelings remained, nagging at him, trying to force an answer out. But here, now, sitting in the kitchen as he laid out breakfast for himself, his mother, and his grandfather, he had only one answer.

“I’m not sure, Joey. I just don’t feel right using them,” Yugi said.

Joey looked long and hard at him from across the kitchen table, his chin in his hand. He looked thoughtful, then he smiled. “I guess that’s nice of you. If you don’t use your most powerful cards, some duellists might actually win some chips off of you in this tournament, huh?”

“No, that’s not what I—”

Joey smacked a hand down roughly in Yugi’s hair and began to ruffle it playfully. “Relax and take a good excuse when it’s offered, Yug! You don’t have to talk about it until you figure things out. Remember, we’re here for you when you’re ready.”

Yugi pulled Joey’s hand away and tried to straighten out his mangled hair. “That’s just it Joey; I don’t know if I’ll ever figure it out.” He ran a hand over his face and sighed.

“Hey,” Joey said softly. “We’re not kids anymore; we’re starting our twenties. We can handle this like adults. If you’ve got some kinda psychological hangup, we can talk to a clipboard quack and get things straightened out. I did a few sessions a while back when my folks split up. You’ve been slipping for awhile now and even I’m starting to worry. Teá’s been talking to us, you know.”

Yugi nodded. “I know. I think I may look into it if it gets any worse.”

“Don’t wait for things to get worse to try to make ‘em better,” Joey warned, his expression serious. “I’ve seen first-hand what that kind of thinking can do. Get help before you really need it. It can only get harder.”

Yugi nodded.

Joey smiled. “Come on; we can talk more about it later. Right now you need to hurry up and get ready for the announcement. I’ll fetch Ma and Gramps before everything gets cold. Now eat up! We’ve got a big day of duelling ahead of us!”

 

Yugi felt much more like his usual self after he’d had a large breakfast in him. With his mother and grandfather waving them off, he and Joey had left for downtown Domino in high spirits. It helped to spend some time out of the house. He was excited to meet up with his friends and see who had arrived as celebrity duellists. Teá had even flown back to Japan to take time off from her studies abroad to see them through the tournament. She’d gone to a school in New York to study modern dance, only coming back during the summer when school was out. She often complained that America’s school schedule had weird breaks and start times, but it gave her lots of time to explore the country before coming home. She brought plenty of cheesy souvenirs back with her, including a flag bandana for Joey which he put on his head for a day, imitating Bandit Keith for hours. Most recently, she’d run into Duke in California on a weekend trip with some friends and he’d shown her around San Francisco. At the end of her visit, he’d given her valuable airfare advice for her return trip home.

Duke was with Teá, Tristan, and Bakura at the seventh district gate, showing off a ticket stub from one of Teá’s Off-Broadway performances. She’d been in two shows now as part of a chorus line and Duke had been to a showing of both, being there to cheer her on as a representative of the group. Tristan was already tearing up as he congratulated her. She’d brought tickets home for everyone from her first show as a memento and had just finished passing them around when Joey and Yugi arrived on the scene.

“Yugi!” Teá cried, running to embrace him. “It’s so good to see you face to face! I’ve missed you guys so much.”

“It’s great to see you too, Teá,” Yugi said, crushed beneath her strong arms, “but you really didn’t have to take time off to visit. I don’t want you falling out of practice just to watch a tournament.”

“Are you kidding? With a free ticket to fly home, there’s no way I was going to say no. Pegasus paid our airfare and we had a blast on the plane together. He said it was important for all of us to come together, especially after we’ve been separated as long as we have—though I can’t say it’s really been so long!”

“Our airfare?” Joey echoed. “But Duke was already here before you. Whaddaya mean you two were on the plane together?”

“Jo-ey!” a sing-song voice called.

Teá grinned and looked over his shoulder. “I never said I flew in with Duke,” she said.

Joey turned around. Hanging out just off to the side at a café were Valon, Serenity, and Mai. While Valon and Serenity were peacefully absorbed looking through each other’s decks, Mai was waving and running over towards them. She flung her arms around Joey’s neck and kissed his cheek with a loud smack.

“It’s been awhile, Joe! I’ve missed you.”

“Mai!” Joey’s face began to turn pink as she nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

She winked up at him, arms still around his neck. “Next time, you should leave me a token so I won’t be so lonely when I travel. Like this! How about a favorite card to remember you by?” In her hand she held his Red Eyes Black Dragon, waving it in front of his nose playfully.

Startled, Joey slipped out of Mai’s grasp and patted down his pockets for his deck. He swiped the card back and tucked it away safely. “Gimme that, Mai! I need that for duelling!”

She giggled and held up one of Valon’s cards. She, Valon, and Serenity had just finished trading while they waited for the others to show up. “But look at this, Joe. Valon gave me one of _his_ cards. He says he missed me while I was in the states. And here; he even signed it with a kiss!” She leaned her face towards the card, lips puckered, and she watched with delight as Joey scrambled with his pockets once more, trying to find his deck.

Joey held a new card between her face and Valon’s card, effectively blocking her. She took it up and saw it was his Graceful Dice. He didn’t wait for her to finish looking before he snatched up Valon’s card. He cleared his throat. “I’ll just keep that safe for ya,” he said, looking away. “This can replace that empty spot in your deck for now. I’ve got a spare I can use.”

Valon and Serenity joined the rest of the group, their bill paid, and they exchanged comical looks. Valon leaned on Mai’s shoulder and she held up the card for him to see. Joey practically began to blow steam out of his ears seeing how close they were, but Valon just laughed. “Relax, mate. You’re a fun one to get riled up, but I’m not gonna move in on your bird or nothing. We’re just good friends is all.”

With a mischievous grin, Mai put her arms around his waist and leaned closer. “Don’t say that, Valon. You know how much I _dearly_ admire you. I don’t think I’ve ever known a more charismatic duellist.”

“Hey! I’m plenty charismatic!” Joey fumed, hands in the air. “I’m Joey ‘Roulette’ Wheeler! I’ve got a master air for flair!”

Valon chuckled as Mai pried herself off of him. “Come on Mai, he’s too easy to tease. You go any further and I might be on the business end of a duel—maybe one without cards.”

“What, is he going to challenge you to a shoot-out? He’s no Bandit Keith,” she teased.

“I can sling a pea-shooter like the best of ‘em,” Joey protested, “but what I have in mind is a classic one-on-one rival’s rematch.”

“Sounds like someone was watching the morning report,” Tristan said.

Valon slipped beside him and they shared a pair of boyish smiles. “I wonder if we can ask that kind lady to give us a play-by-play live.”

Duke leaned in on the other side of Tristan and side-eyed Joey. “Not that there’ll be much to deliver. Joey’s so riled up, he’d lose his cool and his deck just trying to climb the arena stairs.”

“Poor Joey would knock his head and be forced to forfeit on the first turn,” Bakura added.

The four of them howled with laughter, clapping each other’s shoulders as Joey made a spectacle of himself, shouting about his duelling prowess in the Toon Town Tournament, but none of them heard over their diaphramic fit. As Yugi and Teá tried to break up the party, Serenity was watching the street. The last person to arrive was Mokuba. She was beginning to wonder whether he’d decided to come or not when she spotted a familiar figure on the sidewalk.

“Hey, isn’t that Kaiba over by the city map?” she asked, pointing. Her sudden interjection caught the attention of the group.

“It looks like him,” Teá said, “but who’s he with?”

Tristan squinted. “It looks like another Yugi cosplayer. I saw one earlier on the way.”

“Is that actually Kaiba then or are they both cosplayers?”

“Let’s find out,” Joey said. He stared hollering and waving his arms in the air. “Hey, Rich Boy! Long time, no see!”

Kaiba and Atem had arrived early to go over the procedure for his sponsorship announcement. They decided it would be best to stay in district seven until the end of the hour to avoid being pressured into interviews. It was best to avoid an early announcement before Pegasus could give the news himself, and Atem had little preparation for the persistent downtown news reporters. When they’d arrived, they’d stopped by a city map so Kaiba could find the best back entrance into the eighth district to help avoid the press. They hadn’t noticed the arrival of Joey and the others and the sudden holler had startled them both, though in unequal measure. Kaiba felt Atem stiffen by his side, his hands balled into fist against his legs. Atem was staring straight ahead at the map, ignoring his friend. His other friends began to call as well, but they called only Kaiba’s name.

“Kaiba, get over here!” Teá shouted.

Kaiba saw a flash of panic in Atem’s eyes. He grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him away wordlessly down the sidewalk, walking quickly. Neither of them looked back.

“Is he ignoring us?” Serenity asked.

Joey sniffed. “I’m not surprised. Money Bags over there’s always been too good to hang out with us outside of a duel. I say we let ‘em go. Besides, I’m not about to invite him to cheer on my sideline. Come on, sis; I’m itching to get out there before the announcement! There’s a sea of reporters at the eighth gate, just waiting to get the inside scoop. The early bird gets the camera, you know!”

“Joey, that’s worm.”

“Hey, birds eat their thing I eat mine, okay? And I’m starving for some public airwave attention! Look out, world; Joey Wheeler’s on the move!”

As he ran down the street into the growing traffic of arriving duellists, he bumped a hulking man going the opposite way and fell on his knees. The man continued walking without stopping to help him up. Tristan and Teá were the first to arrive and scold him for not watching where he was going. Joey just ran a hand through his hair, getting to his feet. “Some manners that guy has,” he huffed. “At least I apologized for bumping him.”

Tristan dug his knuckles down the top of his head. “He had an earpiece in; he was probably in the middle of a call, moron.”

“You say you want a camera in your face, so act with more composure,” Teá said. “I swear, I’m back for ten minutes and already I have to start babysitting you.”

“Ah, sit this, Teá! It’s time for you to see just how far up the ladder I’ve come since Battle City!” He reached into his back pocket and unfurled with flair a deep blue apron with a Hungry Burger patch on the pocket. The words Burger World were written in a playful yellow pop font above it. Joey tied the apron high on his waist and popped a matching paper hat on his head, posing proudly in his waiter’s uniform.

Tea stared, unimpressed. “Uh, Joey? Why are you wearing a Burger World uniform?”

“I’ll tell ya why! I’ve got myself a sponsorship with them! Check it out!” He turned around dramatically, giving her a good long look. Teá was the only one who hadn’t seen yet.

“That’s great news, but seriously, why do you have to wear that?”

Joey smirked. “I’ll tell you why. Because every minute of air time I get in this thing, I’m getting paid for promoting them. I’ve already got a lot saved up since I first sported this thing in Triple T. I saved the highlight reel to show you later. Now this side! And the other side! Just try to tell me I don’t make this look good!”

“The Toon Town Tournament was a great time for him,” Yugi said. “He wanted to surprise you with the news when you came in the summer.”

“That’s why he hasn’t been in any of the video chats,” Bakura added.

Tristan nodded. “He couldn’t trust himself not to spill the news.”

“Even I almost told you in California. I got sick of waiting.”

Tristan clocked the back of Duke’s head. “And _that’s_ why we banned you from video conferences for a week!”

“Tristan, pick Duke up,” Joey said. “We can talk about all that later. Now hurry up, all of you; how many times do I have to say it? I have a serious need for speed! Let’s go get ourselves an interview!”

 

Kaiba could see Atem was still shaken after they left the group behind. He kept his head lowered toward the sidewalk, letting Kaiba lead for a long time. They’d slowed down as they began to approach the eighth district but Kaiba slowed down further to give Atem time to recover. It wouldn’t be easy, seeing everyone again, knowing they knew nothing about him. They’d been his whole life in this realm. He was sure Atem wouldn’t be able to handle the announcement until he settled down. The best way to do that, he decided, was to go someplace quiet. He steered them towards a small diner, close to the gate.

It was warm inside and cozy. It was busy, filled with duellists and city patrons awaiting the second stage announcements, but the atmosphere was pleasant and the conversation no louder than a soothing buzz of background noise. It wasn’t his usual sort of venture, but it seemed comfortable, and that was what was needed now. At his request, a waitress sat them together in a small booth in the corner. It was farther from the counter and bar, tucked away. Here Atem could collect himself. He didn’t bother to ask Atem what he wanted, knowing he was unlikely to answer, and instead Kaiba ordered for the both of them. For Atem, he ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake. If he had to sit in a sticky plastic booth, he would have a treat: he ordered a vanilla milkshake for himself. Their waitress left and later returned only long enough to serve their shakes before scurrying away again, reading the mood in the air at the booth. Atem sat quietly across from him, fiddling with his straw. He seemed more relaxed now that he was sitting, but he was still very much in his own thoughts by the look of him. Kaiba waited until they were quite settled.

“Hey,” he prompted, speaking gently.

Atem lifted his head slightly, but looked down at his milkshake, stirring it around absently with his straw. He sighed. “I’m sorry to have given you the cold shoulder this morning, but I’m finding it difficult to look you in the eye,” he confessed. His voice was soft, tired. “I know what Pegasus said must sound preposterous to you, bordering on conspiracy—believe me, anyone would know you well enough to know that, whether you’ve met or not. I truly did know you once, and to return knowing you see me as a stranger is too much for me to accept in my current state of mind. If I am to be treated as a stranger, I’d rather I were to walk beside someone equally strange to me.”

Kaiba nodded.

“Yesterday, I thought you might have changed your mind. It was your ‘maybe’ that gave me that hope. Mokuba did not know me, but he recognized me anyway.” He hesitated, then looked Kaiba in the eye with resolve. “I was wondering—hoping that you might have felt something similar. That you might only be too stubborn to admit something so ridiculous and abstract as an intuition. Do you know me, Mr. Kaiba?”

Kaiba felt a pang of regret, hearing his name spoken so formally. It was his own fault, he knew, and he did not know how to rectify it. He feared correcting himself, giving Atem a false hope that he’d remembered him, but he did not wish to hear his name spoken thusly again. That being the case, he still could not allow Atem to have any unfounded expectations. He contemplated his next words carefully. “I have no memory of you, but I did some digging last night.” He smiled secretly to himself at the slip of the tongue. This morning, he had made preparations for a dig in Egypt to uncover the buried tomb and find the puzzle. It seemed like the next most logical step. It would take months to organize and execute, but the sooner they started, the better.

 He continued. “I’ve seen proof of your existence as the spirit of the millennium puzzle and as the ancient pharaoh from a singular source above scrutiny. I have no need of my memories with reliable evidence, but be assured that I have no memory regardless. I fully intend to uncover the truth behind their loss, whatever methods necessary. I don’t like the idea of something happening in my life without my control, and I like it even less that something as intangible as a memory could be taken from me or erased by anything outside of a traumatic accident. I won’t rest easy until I hold all the answers, so I don’t mind tagging along with you for now. It’s been a long time since I’ve been privy to something as puzzling as this and I often find myself lacking entertainment. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a proper challenge of any sort. I’m sure you’re surprised by my current choice of occupation.”

“You always needed something to push you, though I must say I’m surprised you aren’t duelling. Your conversation with Mokuba was enlightening, though I can’t say I approve of this new path of yours.”

Kaiba took a long sip of his milkshake, stalling as he found a way to explain himself. “Duelling Yugi always presents a challenge. He proved he was the true King of Games when he defeated you in the ceremonial duel, but I wasn’t interested in duelling him in your absence.”

Atem sat up straighter. “In my absence?”

Kaiba stiffened. “Duelling him got repetitive,” he explained, feeling oddly flustered. “Even with a good challenge, doing the same thing over and over gets tiresome. If I couldn’t enjoy playing against the very best, there was no way I would find a reason to enjoy crushing anyone lesser. So I moved on from Duel Monsters. Working security detail is unpredictable and exciting and the perfect replacement for something so routine.” Even though it was true, it felt like a lie.

Atem nodded, looking solemn. “I would have liked to duel you again sometime,” he said. He sipped his milkshake, watching the busy scene inside the diner. “You were my friend once and my greatest rival. I left so suddenly; I never got to thank you for helping me grow, as both a person and a duellist. There was still so much that needed to be said, between us and my dearest friends, but I had no time in those last precious moments, nor had I the proper words. I did not truly wish to leave, but I felt it was the path that destiny had carved for me.”

Kaiba’s grip tightened on his glass. Without warning, he snapped. “You should never have let destiny decide your fate for you! You had no right to leave the way you did!”

They both looked at each other, stunned.

Kaiba looked at his hand, the knuckles white. Where had that come from? He felt a rush of adrenaline pass through him, leaving behind a cold shiver of goosebumps. Something inside him had come unburied: a forgotten rage resurfaced. It was a hint; a glimpse into the truth behind his greatest question. His heart was beating rapidly, but he did not think long on it. He took a breath, calming himself again.

Atem searched Kaiba, taking in the stiffness of his shoulders, the shock that came after his raged expression faded. There was a lingering of memory in him somewhere. Here was the proof. But he needed more. “Mr. Kaiba?” he asked. He saw his eye twitch.

 _“What?”_ Kaiba hissed. He glared across the table at Atem. It wasn’t Atem's idea to call him by the name, but in the moment, somehow he still managed to blame him.

There was Kaiba. It had been while, but that ease, that expression was unmistakable. It felt familiar. Atem smiled. “I would like the opportunity to become your friend once more. If you no longer know me, then let the both of us start anew. I have no desire to continue calling you by such formal titles. And you may continue to call me by whatever name suits you.”

Kaiba crossed his arms stiffly. “I’m not one for making friends. Whatever friendship we eventually shared would not be anything that resembled what you share with your school friends. Knowing our history, I think you’ll know that first hand. I don’t intend to act any differently to please you.”

“I don’t want that kind of friendship from you,” Atem agreed. “I only want you to be who you’ve always been to me: nothing more or less.”

“Hm,” Kaiba grunted. He thought about the file he’d explored the night before. “ _Call me by any name,” huh?_ Kaiba thought. He leaned forward over the table, looking Atem in the eye with a challenging smile. “There’s one thing you still haven’t considered, _pharaoh,”_ he said. “What if I don’t _want_ friendship from you?”

Atem grinned as if he were once more standing across the arena, engaging in their mid-battle banter. It had been too long. “I gave you two opportunities to refuse to continue servicing your post as my guard since we sat at this table, and yet you voluntarily expressed interest in continuing your charge. You want answers. If we work together, I’m sure we can find them, and perhaps we can uncover the full mystery surrounding the disappearance of your memories.”

A moment passed between them as they stared at one another, the challenge hanging nearly tangible in the air. They exchanged a smile. The spell was broken as the waitress returned, Atem’s burger in hand. She set it before him and he thanked her before she went away. In that fleeting moment of privacy, Kaiba watched him. He understood something new now, something that Atem had only just misinterpreted.

“Finish your lunch,” Kaiba said, “and we’ll get going toward the gate. Pegasus is announcing your sponsorship in less than half an hour.”

Atem finished his milkshake and wolfed down most of his burger before they left. Kaiba paid, leaving a nice tip for the waitress who made herself politely scarce. They stepped outside, ready to face the announcements, when a powerful wind blew in from the east. The ice cream was a bad idea. Atem shivered and clutched his uniform coat. “What season is this?”

“Late autumn. You certainly didn’t pack well for the weather; that blazer is a pathetic barrier.” Kaiba remembered Mokuba’s concerns about the rain. He wondered if he ought to send for a pair of umbrellas.

“There was no packing to be done when travelling between our dimensions. As I said before, I don’t own any other clothes in this realm,” Atem replied. His teeth chattered. He had not been cold for three years. Even the coolness of the desert at night did not compare to the cold wet wind that blew around them now.

“Honestly,” Kaiba muttered. He pushed Atem forward. “The card Pegasus provided was activated yesterday. We’ll go shopping after the duel district curfew and get you something warmer. Suck it up for now and let’s get going. You’ll warm up as you walk.”

Atem continued walking without complaint, gripping his thin blazer tightly. He had never been able to close it before: the buttons had long since vanished, either by accident or a stylistic choice on the part of his partner, he could never guess. He wished Yugi had had the decency to wear something underneath with sleeves. Even if he’d been able to pack for the journey, none of his Egyptian attire would have been suitable for either the weather or modern society. He envied Kaiba’s turtleneck and full coat. He imagined getting himself a sensible coat with warm sleeves and a thick lining, when there was a sudden warmth around his shoulders. He looked and saw a pointed white collar in the corner of his eye. He turned in time to see Kaiba pull his hands away, looking far ahead.

“Stop chattering your teeth; it’s starting to grate on my nerves,” Kaiba said. He walked ahead of Atem, putting himself between him and the wind. “And don’t let the hem drag on the street,” he added. “You’re annoyingly short.”

Atem clutched the coat tighter around him. It was already wonderfully warm. “Thank you, Kaiba,” he said.

“Just give it back before we reach the gate. Wearing two coats is tacky. Pegasus would never forgive you if you dressed poorly for his grand announcement.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to upload this twice because the lines got messed up the first time and everything was one big block of text. Hopefully that stays fixed now.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter focusing on the Yugi gang. Next chapter opens with them again and we'll get to see a bit more of what Kaiba does as head of 3DT security. Coming up next, we have the announcement of the second stage regulations, the celebrity duellist roster, Atem's sponsorship with Industrial Illusions, and a bit of insight into the greater plot at large as one of Heidi's traps comes to light. In fact, you could say her trap is the / star / of the next chapter. But that's the last hint for now.
> 
> While you wait for my next update, check out some work by my favorite fan-author: marshmallons.  
> https://archiveofourown.org/users/marshmallons/pseuds/marshmallons
> 
> Leave lots of kudos and comments for her; I need her to update Wrekt ASAP. I also have a deal with her going that for every new chapter she publishes, she gets two doodles from me, so you guys get twice the content.


	6. Concerning Stars

Joey was the first of the group to arrive at the eighth district gate. The large crowd of duellists made it difficult to get to the entry checkpoints—particularly when a number of duellists and spectators recognized him and started clustering around—but Joey muscled his way through, creating a path behind him for his sister. The rest of the gang had slipped away somewhere. With an effort, Joey broke free, sister in tow, and presented himself to the checkpoint scanner, holding his duel disk up in triumph. Pegasus had already sent him, Yugi, Mai, and Valon their star chips, and he’d spent all morning shining them up for their first on-air appearance. He gazed lovingly at them as they shined brilliantly in the sunlight. He looked for a camera, his most winning smile in place. That was when he saw Yugi and the rest already on the other side, waving at him.

Joey gaped at them in disbelief. “Hey, how did you guys get over there before me? I was the first one to reach the crowd.”

“If you’d bothered to read the instructions that came with the chips, you’d have known to come through the rear checkpoint,” Tristan answered. He grinned goofilly and pointed a thumb at Yugi. “While you were pushing your way through the crowd, Yugi was already getting his first interview.”

“What? An interview! Hey, wait I—wah!” Joey had already leapt forward, catching the metal arm of the turnstile in his stomach.

Serenity pulled him back. “You have to present your disk before you can get in, Joey; you can’t go climbing over the gate.”

“Oh, right.” Joey straightened himself up and pulled the jack out of his duel disk, handing the end of it to the checkpoint guard. “Plug it in, baby! I’ve gotta get in there before they’ve finished setting up the cameras.” He didn’t wait, plugging the jack in himself. It was just like plugging his disk into one of Pegasus’ classic arena platforms.

“Just a moment, sir,” the guard said, tapping the scanner. “We’re receiving your data now.” With the tap of a few keys, a projection lit up in front of them, displaying Joey’s duel rank in four neat stars. Serenity held up her VIP guest pass as the guard unplugged Joey’s jack. The guard nodded and opened the turnstile gate, allowing him and his sister to pass through into the eighth district.

Joey beamed with pride. The last time his rank had had four stars, a rare hunter had hacked the system in order to set him up to have his Red Eyes Black Dragon taken from him. Over the past three years, he’d worked hard and improved his duelling skills until he’d finally earned a true four star ranking he could proudly claim. Now, in accordance with his rank, Pegasus had sent him four green star chips to surrender to worthy duellists, should they prove successful in the coming week’s battles.

“Welcome to the celebrity circle, Joey,” Mai said, giving him a gentle nudge with her elbow. “We’ve been keeping a spot open for you.”

“No need to welcome me; I’ve been here before. I practically live here. I haven’t needed a guest pass for the last five tournaments!”

Duke held his VIP pass up and examined it. “Speaking of which, it sure was nice of Pegasus to send us these VIP passes. I don’t remember him being so thoughtful during the last few tournaments; we had to get regular guest passes for those.”

“He even remembered passes for me and Teá,” Bakura added, “even though she’s been out of the country.”

Tea looked thoughtful. She held up her pass as well, turning it over in her hand. “Say, Bakura, weren’t you also out of the country when Pegasus sent the invitations?” Teá asked.

Bakura nodded. “Yes, in fact. I was staying with Professor Hawkins in America, organizing his research files for his latest exhibition. I’d been travelling through the eastern states, you see, cataloguing antiques with my father when the professor offered us the use of his camper. You can imagine my surprise to receive mail in my name at the professor’s office in the Smithsonian!”

“And I got my invitation when I went to visit Duke in California,” Teá mused. “It was waiting for me at his game shop, as if Pegasus knew I’d be there. I wonder how he knew where to find us.”

“Security cameras?” Tristan suggested.

“Or maybe spies,” Valon added knowingly. “I remember doing quite a bit of spying for Dartz back when I was under the influence of the Orichalcos seal.”

Yugi chuckled nervously. “It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. However he managed it, he brought us all together in time for this tournament, and I have a feeling he didn’t do it just to give us all some quality time together.”

“Do you think he has something in mind?” Teá asked.

“I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be anything bad. He’s straightened up his act a lot since Duellist Kingdom. Maybe he needs our help with something like a promotional campaign or plans for a new duelling system he wants tested.”

“Yeah. He’s been a real pal these past few years,” Joey interjected.  “I can’t really blame the guy for that stuff he pulled in Duellist Kingdom, all things considered. If anything happened to my sister, I’d probably try the same thing and do whatever it took to get my hands on … on …” The thought trailed on and Joey stopped. He no longer remembered what he’d been about to say.

“What is it, Joey?” Serenity asked. She looked up at him, concerned. She noted the unusually blank expression on his face.

Joey frowned and looked down at Yugi. “Hey, Yugi. What exactly _did_ happen in Duellist Kingdom?”

“What, did you hit your head on the checkpoint sign?” Tristan goaded. “Don’t you remember him taking over KaibaCorp? He wanted to steal the solid vision system prototype and … uh …”

“Wasn’t he trying to steal something from you too, Yugi?” Teá asked.

“I …” Yugi looked between his friends and felt a chill. A sudden hush had fallen over them. Something had happened, they knew, but they only had a vague recollection.

Tristan looked pale and clutched his jacket tighter around him. His voice was quiet when he spoke, as if he were frightened. “Hey, this might sound weird, but are any of you guys having a lapse of memory right now? Because I’m drawing up a blank.”

“Now that you mention it, I’m finding it difficult to remember a lot of the stuff after Duelist Kingdom.” Tea looked around, catching many sets of startled eyes. “We went through something else in Kaiba’s tournament, didn’t we? I remember I was with someone downtown when it was announced, but now I can’t remember who it was. And I can’t remember much of what happened after that or during the finals; it’s all a blur to me.”

“Could it be an ancient magic,” Valon suggested, “like the Seal of Orichalcos?”

Yugi jolted on the spot. “Come to think of it, I can’t remember most of what happened with the seal either!”

“No way! How could you forget? You lot saved the world from complete destruction.”

“This is unsettling,” Joey said, shivering. “I don’t like this conversation one bit. I came out here this morning to duel and now we’re sitting around, not fifteen minutes before the announcements, talking about a bunch of mystical magical mumbo jumbo! I’m gonna lose my nerve!”

“Joey, there’s something more important going on,” Teá scolded. “Something’s happened to our memories. It’s impossible for all of us to forget so much of our time with no explanation.”

Bakura’s voice cut through the air like a cold knife. “Do you suppose Pegasus knows something about all of this?”

The group exchanged worried glances.

“You don’t think he’s the one who caused our memories to scramble, do you?” Mai asked. “When would he have done it—and how?”

Serenity tugged at her brother’s sleeve. “Joey, I’ve never even met Pegasus face to face. How could he have messed with my memories?”

“I dunno, sis. But rest assured if he’s behind this, he’ll have to answer to me.”

“Hold on now,” Yugi said. “We don’t know the cause of this yet. All we know is that Pegasus brought us together for a reason. For all we know, the same thing might have happened to him. It’s possible that those taken by the Seal of Orichalcos had their memories affected. Maybe Pegasus is trying to gather those of us who were involved to find out more.”

Teá hesitated. “But some of us weren’t ever under the spell of the seal: Duke, Tristan, Bakura, Serenity, and I were never involved.”

“Man, I’m not following any of this,” Joey moaned. He buried his face in his hands as if it would shut out these newest revelations.

Yugi held a hand up until he had the attention of the group. “Listen everyone. I know we’re all a bit confused now, but we don’t have all the facts. I say we wait until curfew and meet up with Pegasus to find out more. I’ll talk to him just after the announcements and see if we can set up a meeting in his office. Whatever’s happening, I’m sure he can lend us a hand in figuring things out. If anyone knows about anything suspicious happening in Domino, it’d be him. After all, he knew about the people who worked for Dartz long before we did and he made the preparations for us to stop them. That much I’m sure of. If there’s more magic involved, he might be able to provide us with some answers.”

“What makes you so sure, Yugi? I’ve spent a lot of time researching the occult myself, and I’ve never encountered so much as a trace of anything magical outside of the seal.”

“I don’t know, Bakura. I just have a feeling.” Yugi flashed them all a reassuring smile. “Something about this feels familiar, even if I can’t put my finger on it just yet. But I trust my gut, and my gut tells me there’s more to this than we remember.”

“Well if you think Pegasus has the answers, I’m willing to have a talk with him,” Joey said, though he looked apprehensive. “A few lost memories aren’t going to get me down if they aren’t gonna bug you. I’ll duel my best out there today, and by tonight we can start looking for some answers. And you know what? I’ve got a good gut feeling too. I’m willing to bet all four of my star chips that things will turn around by this time tomorrow.”

“All two,” Duke corrected.

Joey blinked. “What’s that?” he asked.

“You’ve only got two star chips,” Mai replied. She pointed at his duel disk. “See? One, two; two green star chips on the reader.”

Joey turned the duel disk over in his arm. Of the five black readers on the side of his duel disks, only two remained covered with stars. The other two were missing. Joey gaped. “Half of my star chips! They’re gone! I haven’t even started duelling yet and half of my chips have disappeared!” he wailed.

“Joey, calm down. Maybe they fell off when you got your duel disk scanned.”

“That’s right! I could’ve bumped them off when I hit the gate.” He turned around and began headed back the way they’d come, towards the checkpoint.

“You’d better hurry up, Joe!” Tristan said. “We’ve got less than ten minutes before Pegasus is supposed to make the announcement for the celebrity duellists. You’ve gotta be on the press stage before he calls you from the roster!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Joey called back over his shoulder. “I’ll be there and back in no time! In fact, I’ll bet the guard found them already.”

“He’s never going to find them in time.” Teá sighed.

Yugi shrugged, and gave a resigned smile. “Then I guess we’d better go help him.”

However, when they checked the gate, Joey’s chips were nowhere to be found. The guard helped them look, but there was no sign of it. “Can’t you guys track them or something like you do the duel disks?” Joey asked.

The guard bowed, flustered. “I’m afraid the only data contained within the chips is the duelling history imprinted on each one. There’s no such feature on any of them for tracking.”

“Man, I’m dead!” Joey wailed. “I’ll be a laughing stock if word gets out! I’ll never be invited back to an event like this—not ever!”

“Just a minute, Joey!” Teá said, her face lighting up. “Remember earlier when we were in the other district? You’d already put your star chips on your disk then. You might have lost the two of them when you bumped that man earlier!”

Joey’s eyes went wide and he turned around. “Hey, you’re right! They could still be there, waiting for me in the street!” He took off towards the seventh district at breakneck speed, his sneakers pounding the pavement, Burger World apron flying.

Mai, Valon, and Yugi stayed behind in case they were called on stage for the announcement. They promised to stall for time if they could. Yugi had insisted on going, but Joey stopped him. “You’re the one people are waiting to see most of all! You’ve got to be there when you’re called.” Instead, Teá, Tristan, Duke, Serenity, and Bakura followed closely on Joey’s heels, their eyes all focused on the path beneath them for any trace of the fallen star chips.

Joey had his nose to the ground like a bloodhound as they got close to the square with the café. He checked by garbage cans and under the café tables and chairs, behind cars parked beside the curb, and in every crack on the sidewalk. He was so lost in his search that he didn’t look up once, and consequently, he headbutted a stranger in the process. The man grunted in surprise as Joey stood up, trying to flounder his way through an apology. He was cut short suddenly as he recognized the man’s face.

“You again! I, ah, I’m sorry about bumping you just now, and for bumping you before! I’m kinda scattered at the moment—pre-duel jitters or something. Hey, have you by any chance seen a gre—” He stopped himself short as he looked the man over. On the man’s left arm was a duel disk and attached to the reader, eight star chips. Joey stared slack jawed at the chips. Two of them were a bright green. “Hey!” he shouted. “What’re you doing with my chips on your duel disk!”

Tristan bumped up beside Joey, hands raised and ready for a fight. “Yeah! You didn’t earn those chips. Give them back!”

The man stood to an imposing height and looked down on Joey and his friends with a grim expression. “Whatever happened to finder’s keeper’s?” he asked. His voice was steady and reverberated in his chest.

“Duke, Bakura, go see if you can find a judge or the commissioner,” Teá instructed.

“I saw a security guard down the road,” Serenity said, stepping away. “Come on guys, let’s go before they start a fight.”

“Hey, nobody’s gonna do any fighting unless this guy insists on breaking the rules. Now what’s it gonna be? You gonna hand over the chips like a champ, or try to cheat like a chump?”

The man plucked the stars from the reader on his duel disk and held them up in the light. He turned his hand over once, inspecting them. “There’s supposed to be a bunch of interesting prizes at the end of the tournament for whoever has a colored star chip,” he said, speaking slowly. “Rare cards, duel accessories, event vouchers and the like; things you can’t get anywhere else. Seems a shame to waste an opportunity when one falls in your lap so easily.”

Joey’s face went red and he grit his teeth. “Alright, you wanna play this the hard way, then fine!” He shot out his left arm, raising it high and activating his duel disk. “I’ll take you on here and now! If you can beat me before my friends come back, I’ll give you another chip to keep, but if I beat you or you run out of time, you surrender my chips and scat! Got it?”

The man smiled. He lifted the star chips to eye level and looked at Joey, studying him. He opened his mouth to speak when out of the blue, a card shot through the air, embedding itself in the back of his hand. His unspoken words turned into a deep cry of pain as he dropped the chips and clung to his hand. Then, just as quickly, he fell forward on his knees, kicked high in his back and forced forward. Leaning above him triumphantly with a foot between his shoulder blades was Seto Kaiba, fierce blue eyes leering out from behind thick black glasses.

The group stared between Kaiba and the man whose face was now being forced into the asphalt, awestruck.

“Well look what we have here,” Kaiba said. “The dweeb patrol is out on the town, already getting into trouble this early in the day.”

Tristan grimaced. “Aren’t we getting a little old to be saying words like dweeb unironically?”

Joey blinked, still surprised by the sudden and effective appearance of their close acquaintance. “Hey, not for noth’in but what’s with that response?” he asked. He eyed the man forcibly bent beneath Kaiba’s foot.

“Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any actual security interfere in a tournament before,” Teá chimed.

Kaiba straightened himself upright, unbothered. “You’ve never been in a tournament where I work as head of security,” he said.

“Uh. We’ve been in  _your_  tournament Kaiba,” Tristan replied. "Two of 'em, actually."

“And I wasn’t head of security. I was too busy running the thing to attend to smaller squabbles then.” He leaned down over the man beneath him and plucked his now bloody card from his hand, wiping it clean on the man’s jacket. “Duel District tournament rules state there will be no rewarded rematches within the same district boundary. Celebrity Duellists have only appeared in the eighth district—and that district hasn’t even opened for duelling yet. If it  _were_  open, your disk should have no more than one green star, even if it barely qualifies as a celebrity chip, coming from Wheeler.”

Joey fumed. “Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m big news in Domino! I’m recognized by Pegasus! I’m even sponsored by a local chain!

“And what an exclusive sponsorship. Nice apron, dork. Didn’t you just ring up my order at Burger World a while ago?”

Joey growled and stepped forward, fists raised. “Hey, I’m break’in bank for every minute of screen time I get in this thing! I’m sav’in up for my future. Not that somebody with pockets deep as yours would understand the need for that.”

“I would need to care before I ever considered trying to understand the things that fly out of your mouth.” Kaiba grunted. His attention was now focused on the thief, Joey forgotten. “Not that we need to, but let’s check that victory log of yours, shall we? I’d like to see just how many of those chips on your arm have been earned.”

Kaiba reached down and snatched the plug cable from the man’s duel disk. With a flare, he pulled a tablet from a clip on his harness and powered it on, plugging the cable into the side. Also visible on the harness were his gun and security badge. He did not seem to mind whether or not people saw. In fact, the group found it odd that he was so exposed. He’d usually be in a coat of some kind. Still, he looked powerful enough without it. Training for security had done plenty of noticeable work for his physique. Kaiba moved to sit down on the man’s back, casually scrolling through the tablet as the man crumbled under his weight.

The tablet Kaiba carried projected a series of images. He scrolled through a number of duellist’s profiles. At the end, he came upon three large red X’s. He grinned and powered the tablet down, clipping it back into his harness. “There’s no record of any duel between you and Wheeler, win or lose,” he announced. “And what’s more, it seems you stole your sixth qualifying chip to enter the eighth district. Since I’m in a giving mood today, I’ll let this be your first warning. Pull something in this tournament again and you’ll be facing a lifetime ban from all future official Duel Monsters events and your duel disk will be decommissioned and stripped of its data.”

Kaiba reached down and picked up the two green star chips off the asphalt. He tossed them to Joey. The third stolen star chip, he plucked from the man’s duel disk and pocketed. “You dorks better get a move on if you want to make it to the announcement on time. Pegasus’ introduction just started and he’ll be onstage soon.” As he turned toward the eighth gate, he gave the group a last smile, one more gentle than his usual cocky grin. Then, he strode off with purpose, calling behind him. “Yami! Let’s go!”

Something stirred in the group, all brought to attention by the strange name. Yami? They turned to see a figure had been standing off to the side during the whole affair, a long white coat draped over his shoulders. They had seen him before, standing with Kaiba, looking at the city map. The sight of him made them feel unsettled. He was familiar, but unknown.

Atem stood locked in place, the shock of hearing his old name causing him to freeze. It wasn’t possible, but Kaiba had remembered his old name. Or did he only learn it from this inscrutable source he’d mentioned? He saw the startled expressions on his old friends’ faces as they all stood around stock-still, staring at him with their unreadable eyes. He felt a shiver run through him. Did they know him? Or did they have some vague recollection like Mokuba? He realized he would always be unprepared for this moment. As he lingered, wondering what he ought to say or do, Kaiba called him again, snapping him to reality. Atem clutched the coat around his shoulders and looked down at the ground as he rushed his way through the group. He could not stand the power of their collective gaze. However, once he’d gotten through, he looked back at them, locking eyes unexpectedly with Teá. He saw her eyes widened slightly and he hurried on.

Tears had begun to roll down Teá’s cheeks as Serenity and the others arrived back on the scene, a guard in tow. The guard stood beside them and Serenity wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Are you alright?” Serenity asked.

The guard unclipped a radio receiver from his belt. “What’s wrong, miss? Has someone tried to harass you into a duel?” he asked.

Bakura leaned down in front of her, trying to catch her eye. “What happened?”

“I … I don’t know,” she said. For some reason, she was shaking. “But I have a feeling we’ve seen him before.”

“Seen who?”

“That person Kaiba was with just now.” She pointed in the direction they’d just gone. “Yami.”

Bakura looked down the road as Duke spoke to the guard. Serenity comforted Teá in the meantime. A cold wind blew around them, but Bakura didn’t feel it. He was focused on the two figures retreating in the distance. “Yami?”

 

“Welcome duellists from around the globe to the second stage of the Domino City Duel District Tournament!” Pegasus’ voice echoed through the loudspeakers, rising over uproar of the cheering crowd. He waved with his free hand, looking out over them from the center of the press stage, just inside the eighth gate. He was dressed in his iconic red suit, his silver hair swept stylishly over his left eye, the picture of pride. As the crowd settled, he began the grand theatrical announcement.

“Congratulations to the talented duellists who have managed to battle their way to the inner circle; you’ve fought long and hard over the past week and now you shall begin to reap the rewards! As you all know, the final hundred duellists in the tournament shall each receive a Duel Monsters card of a rarity proportionate to their ranking, but fear not if your mind is plagued with thoughts of falling short of the cut, for in this second stage there will be many more opportunities for you to earn exclusive prizes. I will now reveal to you the surprise challenge of stage two: the celebrity duellist stars!”

Pegasus raised his arm high in the air and a hologram blazed to life above him, projecting a roster board detailing the invited celebrities’ names, ranking, and profile pictures. Their rankings were marked with a number of stars from three to five, each with their own color. As Pegasus called their names, the duellists walked on stage and lined up, smiling at the rambunctious crowd, spurred on further by their appearance. Joey arrived on stage panting and flushed, having arrived only just in time.

“Starting today in district eight, these esteemed duellists shall be wandering through the city, waiting to be challenged by you. Find them, fight then, and collect one of their exclusive star chips to win secret prizes at the end of the tournament. And fear not; these particular chips once earned cannot be taken in a duel by another duellist. Even if you are eliminated from the tournament, your colored chip is yours to keep! To keep the challenge fair, our celebrity duellists have each been given a selection of cards with which to form their deck, keeping only one card each from their own decks. Their duels will be a test of their ability to strategize with limited power. However, be warned: their decks will contain newer, more powerful cards as they move to the inner districts to keep things exciting.”

As the cameras moved closer to pan over the celebrities, Pegasus looked just off stage, no longer the focus of the frame. There was Atem, waiting as instructed. They’d met in the early morning for breakfast in the city to discuss preparations for the announcement. Atem had been told where to stand, when to rise to the stage, how to act before the crowd and cameras, and had even rehearsed a scripted speech for his sponsorship acceptance. Now he was standing beside Kaiba, straightening out his jacket and trying to make himself presentable. Looking at him, Pegasus wished he’d remembered to send him some clothes along with all his other preparations, but he could lament his attire later. It wasn’t the time to moon over mistakes.

“And now, ladies and gentleman, I have another surprise announcement. I’m not such a gossip myself, but I’ve heard the rumors buzzing throughout Domino lately. I’ve happily confirmed a number of your favorite duellists’ appearances, and I’m happy to reveal that one more rumor is in fact true. I’ve been keeping a sharp eye on the duels in my tournament and have been searching for a duellist with fire, with skill, with a natural flair and grace under pressure to sponsor and take under my wing. Yes, Industrial Illusions has been looking among you the people for a new star, and I have found that star shining brilliantly! Many of you may recognize this foreign face as the rising fan favorite appearing on broadcasts throughout the city. Allow me to introduce the new face of Industrial Illusions, the Domino City Underdog, the Phenomenal Pharaoh, King Atem!!”

Sparklers lit up the front and the crowd cheered once more as Pegasus held a hand out across the stage. Atem took a breath, willing himself forward. He was never much good at addressing crowds. A soft hand on his back pushed him towards the stage and he looked back at Kaiba. Kaiba mouthed an instruction to him in the deafening roar. Atem rose up the steps and approached Pegasus’ side. As he walked, he briefly caught the eyes of his friends: Valon, Mai, Joey, and Mokuba. His heart beat faster. Was he recognized? But there was not a moment to linger and look as he reached the end of the stage.

As he bowed to Pegasus in greeting, Pegasus received a package from an assistant off stage and emptied it of its prize. While Atem’s head was still lowered, Pegasus flung a long purple cape over his shoulders, much like his old cloak in Egypt. It was evident Pegasus had done his research. Atem rose again and waved to the audience politely, their faces a blur. All the while, he felt the eyes of his friends watching him, searing into his back. He could not help but repeat the question over and over in his mind—did they know him? He hadn’t stopped to speak to them before. Perhaps there’d be a moment after the announcement. It was nearly over now. He was nearly ready. The cape somehow helped him feel less vulnerable.

“Flattering names, Pegasus, but I’ve won no titles yet,” he said, his voice even and robotic. He followed the playful script to the best of his ability, being too nervous to give it honest merit. “I’m no king here in Domino City.”

“No, I’m afraid that title belongs to one duellist and one alone. And that brings me to the final celebrity duellist. I’m sure he needs no introduction. Let’s hear it, Domino! Give me the name of the King of Games!”

In one ear-shattering voice, the crowd answered, “YUGI MUTOU!” and erupted into wild applause.

Atem felt unsteady on his feet as he turned to watch Yugi climb the opposite steps. His heart began to race and he feared the stage would collapse beneath him—or his legs at the very least. There was his partner, perhaps a little taller, a little older, a little surer of his step. Those familiar eyes looked back at him steadily, the faintest composed hint of surprise. Atem did not hear the rest of Pegasus’ speech for all the blood rushing in his ears. Mechanically, on cue, he reached out a hand to wish Yugi luck and to open the tournament. Yugi took his hand with a firm grip, but it loosened again not a moment after making contact. There was something like static at their touch and Yugi’s eyes widened. Atem’s heart leapt into his throat as his hopes began to rise. He opened his mouth to speak but he was drowned out as a festive fanfare played over the speakers. Then, Yugi was swept away into his friends’ embrace. Instead, Pegasus rejoined him, an arm around his shoulder. With a genuine smile, he waved to the crowd, looking as pleased and proud as a peacock. Atem followed suit and waved. All the while, he wanted nothing more than to break away, to speak with Yugi, but he was trapped by Pegasus’ arm and sponsorship social convention. Cameras flashed in his face and soon reporters would be hounding for their interviews. He only hoped the others on stage would be equally detained, at least until he could break free to meet with them. It would be difficult once everyone dispersed. There would be one hour of regular duels before the celebrities joined the game. He had to find time before then to see Yugi.

It couldn’t really be said that it was lucky that Pegasus swooped in to save the day; it was a purposeful move. He swept Atem off the stage after the commencement, brushing the press aside gracefully. “There will be scheduled interviews today throughout the city with my duellists in their assigned locations. If the press would please consult the 3DT webpage for further information, interview slots shall be made available within the hour.”

There were a few tables behind the press stage covered with party platters of deli sandwiches, vegetables, and coolers of drinks. Pegasus stopped beside them and clapped his hands loudly. “Duellists! We have one hour of rest and preparation before you are released to the streets. Please help yourself to refreshments while your decks are being inspected and catalogued for the post-tournament database entries. Once your decks are returned, you may wander the city as you please, but be sure to remember your assignments and report to your location at the proper time for your interviews.”

Atem looked at his cards, sticking out of his duel disk. Did he have to turn over his deck as well? They hadn’t discussed it during their meeting.

Pegasus turned to Atem as the other duellists dispersed, catching the motion. He smiled and waved a hand in the air before him. “Keep it,” he said. “Being a sponsored duellist works differently from being a celebrity guest. For my guests, I’ve offered a strict selection of cards with which to form their decks; I’m recording their choices into a deck library for possible promotional release later on, as well as for historical prosperity. I’ve made strides in tournament design in your absence, haven’t I? I don’t need to be told how impressive it all is.”

Atem smiled back and nodded. “You like to be told anyway. It certainly is an impressive system.”

“It also gives you an hour to catch up,” Pegasus said. He tilted his chin toward the crowd of his guests. One figure in particular stood out from the rest, his hair poking out like a bright beacon.

“Kaiba didn’t remember me,” Atem whispered, planting his feet firmly.

“Kaiba hardly takes the time to remember _me_ and we have a business partnership. You and Yugi shared a body and mind.” Pegasus pushed him forward encouragingly. “Yugi-boy, hello!” he called, grabbing his attention.

Yugi turned and waved at Pegasus jovially. There was a subtle pause in his wave when he spotted Atem by Pegasus’ side. His expression recovered and he joined the two of them. He held out a hand to Atem again and smiled.

“I’m sure you need no introduction,” Pegasus said.

“It’s Atem, right? I’ve been following the broadcasts of your duels for a few days now with Joey. He was pretty excited by some of your moves in the arena.”

Atem’s hand went a fraction limp, but he held onto Yugi’s hand a moment longer. He wanted nothing more than to embrace him, tell him how much he’d been missed. But Yugi didn’t recognize him. So instead, he simply gave him his best smile. “Thank you, I’m flattered,” he said. “I’ve been a fan of your duelling from the start. I’m proud to see how far you’ve come.”

“Oh!” Yugi scratched his neck shyly. “I really owe it to my friends. They’ve helped me learn and grow since day one.” Yugi looked between Atem and Pegasus nervously. He wanted to talk to Pegasus alone about the group’s collective discovery, but he was too polite to ignore Pegasus’ guest.

“Yami.”

Atem felt a tingle run through him at the sound of his old name and he turned to the soft voice behind him. He felt relief wash over him like a soothing balm as Kaiba came to stand at his side. He’d become a steadying rock so quickly, simply by using that name. It grounded him.

“Yami?” Yugi repeated, his eyes wide.

Kaiba looked down at him. There was a strange expression on his face like misplaced annoyance, but it disappeared quickly enough. “What? Do you know him?” he asked, his voice gruff.  
Yugi bit his lip in thought. “No. The name though … ” He trailed on the thought, unable to explain it. He looked at Pegasus.

Atem felt the warmth of Kaiba’s coat fall over his shoulders again. He looked to the side. Kaiba was standing closer now, looking tense.

“You should finish your sentences, Yugi. That’s a poor habit.”

Yugi’s attention snapped back to Kaiba. He looked at him long and hard. “It sounded familiar is all. But isn’t his name Atem?” he asked. “Why did you call him Yami?”

Kaiba huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I wasn’t the one who gave him the name,” he said, his tone accusatory.

“You say that like you’re holding me responsible,” Yugi said with a mild laugh. Another laugh died in his throat when he caught Atem’s eye. The strange, familiar feeling made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He remembered what Joey said about their memories. When did Kaiba start lending people his coat? For that matter, when did he get in the habit of calling people by their first names? He looked at Pegasus. He’d remained quiet, watching them intently. It felt as if they were searching him for something; like they were conspiring on a secret involving him. And he was beginning to imagine what that secret might be. Maybe he didn’t need to see Pegasus alone to discuss this.

“Unless—do we k—”

“Pegasus will fill you in on the details,” Kaiba cut. “Don’t pretend to be so slow next time we see you, Mutou. Let’s go, Yami.” Without another word, Kaiba dragged Atem away from the crowded gates, the press, and the duellists. He felt how cold Atem’s hand was in his own. He had seen the blood rush from Atem’s face before, watching from the side of the stage when Yugi had first greeted him. He had seen Atem shaking. He had seen his smile failing.

Kaiba pulled Atem into a quiet side street, tucked away from the oncoming foot traffic. The gates had opened and duelists were already entering the district. Kaiba looked around before he spotted a bench. He took Atem to it and made him sit down. “Take a moment and calm down,” he said, kneeling down beside him. “You look like you haven’t taken a full breath since he walked on stage.”

Atem hadn’t noticed. He held up his hands now and saw them shaking. He had been expecting this, but the reality cut him deeper than his imaginings. As long as he avoided Yugi, he could have hoped for a different outcome. Secretly, kept even from himself, he had hoped against hope that Yugi would be the exception. He took a few deep breaths as Kaiba instructed, but he was still shaken. He tugged the coat around him, his knuckles turning white. His eyes felt hot and his vision became blurry. Then, all at once, he was crying large, hot tears. First, his shoulders shook from contained sobs as he tried to hold himself back. Then, he let go and wailed. He buried his face in Kaiba’s shoulder, unable to seek out one more familiar.

Kaiba was stunned. In all his footage, he had not seen the pharaoh display such raw emotion. Perhaps he had in his memory, but there was no remembering now. He felt distressed seeing Atem so exposed, but, guiltily, he let the weight of Atem sink into him with a quiet relish. There was something to this feeling that reached a part of his mind he did not have access to. Rather than try to puzzle it out, he embraced it. He wrapped his arms around Atem’s shoulders, steadying him, and he let him cry. He ran a comforting hand up and down his back. Something about the motion was easy once he dared to do it. It had begun with a twitch of his hand, and then he couldn’t stop. As Atem’s cries grew quieter, he held him closer. Cruelly, he wanted him to go on crying. He wanted the excuse to continue holding him, at least until he could figure out why he felt the need to.

“You don’t have to duel,” he whispered. “I can take you back if you don’t want to see people anymore today.” He was close enough to smell Atem’s hair. He restrained himself, wondering at the baffling compulsion he felt.

Atem stiffened, his sobs now dead in his chest. The feeling of Kaiba’s breath on his ear pulled him back to the moment at hand. He opened his eyes and saw the soft black fabric of Kaiba’s shirt. He felt the warmth surrounding him and the strong pressure of Kaiba’s arms. As he breathed, he could smell him. He smelled oddly human, comforting. A flash of memory entered his mind: a memory of Egypt. He’d broken down like this once before, during that long conversation with Seto, the day he first began looking for the resurrection spell. That, too, had ended in an embrace—one that caused him to cry for other reasons altogether. Seto was no substitute. Atem reached out one hand and clung to Kaiba’s shirt. He no longer cared what he might think. He tucked his face deeper into his shoulder. In this moment, it was allowed. Whatever Kaiba thought afterwards, he would keep this. “You smell different,” he mumbled under his breath.

They sat that way awhile until Atem began to breathe normally again. “Do you want to go?” Kaiba asked. He felt Atem nod against his shoulder. He waited until Atem was ready to move and they stood together. Kaiba called the car to come pick them up. Atem leaned against his side, not quite ready to stand alone. Kaiba let him stay.

“Atem?”

Atem shifted and looked up at him. “Hm?”

Kaiba looked down to meet his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but he reconsidered. “Never mind,” he said. He wasn’t ready to ask. He had to figure it out for himself. “Pegasus will tell your friends all about you, like he did at the office. Knowing them, they’ll be quicker to believe than me. Memories or no memories, you’ll be with them again soon enough.”

Atem smiled a genuine smile at last. He wiped his eyes. “Cancel the car. I’ll be alright now.”

“Are you sure?” Kaiba asked.

“I want this. I want to be distracted. If I return to the hostel, I won’t be able to think about anything but my friends. In a duel, I have to be present. Besides, people are expecting me.”

Kaiba nodded. “Alright. Then we’d better get you checked in properly at the gate,” he said.

It took no time at all. Atem turned in all but two of his chips to the eighth district gate guard and Kaiba filed an official report on the chip thief that robbed Joey, asking the guard to have the regular duellist chip returned before and they set out into the city. Two duels and it was time for his interview. By that time, he was sufficiently prepared. His eyes were no longer red and puffy. Besides, now he knew things would work out for the best. He had faith in Kaiba’s promise.

 

“Man, I spent all morning polishing these things, but this one refuses to shine.” Joey scrubbed at one of his star chips with his apron. “Either Pegasus’ quality control is down the tube or Kaiba tainted it when he touched it.” He faked a gag, wiping furiously at the surface of the green star.

“You polish that thing any more and people are gonna need sunglasses to look at it,” Tristan complained. “You’re gonna lose it soon anyway. Isn’t that kind of the point?”

“Quit exaggerating! I’m telling ya, it’s not as shiny as the others. That big ape probably scratched it.”

“Only if you’re the ape, Joey.” Teá sighed. “It’s your fault for dropping your star chips in the first place. One of them was bound to get messed up.”

Joey glared at his friends, his cheeks pink. “If you guys were going to be like this, you could’ve gone with Mai or Mokuba. I’d rather have a more supportive support group. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s like you only ever say nice things to Yugi.”

“Well it seems to me that you’re more motivated by spite. Yugi on the other hand thrives from positive feedback.” Bakura grinned, looking a little too pleased with himself for Joey’s current mood.

“Hey pretty boy, you could’ve just as easily gone off with Yugi too.”

“But he had the first interview slot. I wouldn’t want to wait around and miss the action. I’m looking forward to seeing the occult-themed monsters at play. Pegasus released a few new cards a while ago and I haven’t gotten the chance to see them yet. I’m hoping one will come up in a duel. He did provide your cards after all, and you still haven’t shown us your deck.”

Joey shuddered. “The last kind of card I’d have in my deck is one of those hocus-pocus spooks of yours. These may be Pegasus’ cards, but I selected them with my own style in mind. This baby’s gonna be a tough one to beat, even with the power limit!”

“If that one star is bothering you so much, you think you’d want to lose it as soon as possible,” Tristan teased. “Not like the rest of us can tell them apart.”

“There’s a difference!” Joey shouted. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s as shiny—I’m still gonna make them earn it! There’s not a single mook here that can stand up to my ultimate strategies. You’ll see; I’m gonna get through this tournament with all my stars intact!”

“That kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?” Bakura mused.

Joey gave him a grim look.

“I think your ego’s grown a bit too much since Toon Town. Maybe you should duel Yugi and regain some of your humility,” Teá suggested.

“Or that doppelganger of his,” Tristan added. “He’s the favorite to win in the latest poll. He’s got some serious skill.”

“Ah, skills or no skills, if he challenges me I’m going to duel him until he’s ready to drop!” Joey vowed.

 

Atem was ready to drop. Since the very hour Pegasus announced the sponsorship, people had come one after another to duel him. The cameras were on him as soon as he arrived back on the busier streets and people were eager to join him for a live broadcast duel. The skill level was much higher now and he was being approached by tougher and more experienced duellists every hour. He had yet to lose, but a few people had forced him on the defensive. It was the distraction he’d been hoping for. He was so tired when curfew finally hit, he’d forgotten all about Kaiba’s shopping plans. He wanted to protest and head back to the hostel, to crash into bed and sleep a deep, dreamless sleep, but the thought of sleeping in his clothes for one more night was enough to carry him into the store.

Kaiba did the choosing for him since Atem was dead on his feet. They’d do more shopping later on, but for the moment, he made sure to get him the basics: socks, a plain white button-up shirt, and a pair of black jeans. He let Atem pick his own intimates out for himself. He also picked out a pair of black sweatpants and a soft cotton t-shirt for sleeping. When he held these out for Atem to feel, he was certain Atem was ready to fall asleep on top of them, right on his hands. He promised he could sleep on the ride back to the hostel as long as he got into a booth and tried on his jeans. With some half intelligible mumbling, Atem trudged his way into the changing rooms obediently.

While shaking himself out of his uniform, he felt something pointy prick his side. Atem stopped and reached into his pants pocket. He felt something cold and metal and when he pulled it out to inspect, he found it was a star chip. He stared at it, confused. All the star chips he’d won that day had gone directly onto his duel disk. Then he remembered: he’d put this chip in his pocket last night after he won his last qualifying duel. But there had been six star chips on his duel disk when he presented it at the eighth gate—where could he have gotten an extra? He redressed after trying the jeans—a good fit—and rejoined Kaiba at the checkout. He paid with Pegasus’ card and took his bag, not paying attention. He was busy trying to remember where he might have gotten the chip. By the time they got in the car, he was awake enough to give it proper thought.

“What’s that?” Kaiba asked, leaning over the seat.

Atem was turning the chip over in his hand. “I had an extra star chip in my pocket. It’s the one from that duel last night that I forgot to put on my disk. I was sure I had six chips on my disk when I checked in the gate, but here’s one now in my hand.”

“The guard wouldn’t have made a mistake. My system has too many security measures. Every duel is recorded on the chips and the profiles are accessed to ensure a valid win.” Kaiba looked troubled, his brow furrowed. “I would have noticed if you had a seventh duel.”

“Then I didn’t earn one of my star chips, somehow. One of those chips on my duel disk was illegitimate. But how would it have been registered?”

“Heidi.”

They looked at each other.

“Why would Heidi give me a star chip?” Atem asked slowly, the thought sinking in.

Kaiba shifted. “Maybe to get you further into the tournament. It could be the setup to a trap. She could be trying to pin you for fraud. Expose you, destroy your reputation once you’re at the top, and then kick you when you’re down. She might want to do more than just physical harm.”

Atem gripped his bag a little tighter, staring at the floor of the car.

Kaiba looked at the side of his head. “I’ll up your security,” he said. “Tonight.”

When they arrived at the hostel, Kaiba stayed close to Atem’s side. He called in extra security, making the arrangements as they walked down the hall. He would see to it that someone stayed with Atem in the room, not just outside by the door. In the morning, he’d look into further security measures. Briefly, he considered staying the night himself, but he’d be too tired to be on full alert.

Atem retrieved the keys from his back pocket and unlocked the door. The moment he turned the handle, a loud _crack_ sounded in the hall, and in an instant, the hall filled with thick black smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's going down.
> 
>  


	7. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the one where a small writing mistake becomes plot relevant.

Pegasus’ large office looked much smaller with ten duellists crowding around the center. As promised, after the five o’clock curfew, Yugi had gathered everyone together to visit Pegasus in an effort to learn more about the strange bout of group amnesia they all seemed to be suffering. On one side of the desk stood Teá, Tristan, Joey, Serenity, and Duke. On the other were Bakura, Mokuba, Mai, and Valon. Yugi sat in the chair directly front of the desk, eye to eye with Pegasus as leader of the gathering. Mokuba stood close to Pegasus’ elbow, wanting the best spot to watch everyone’s initial reactions to the news of Atem. He had heard Kaiba pacing in his room, thinking out loud to himself. He’d seen the footage left open on his computer. He delighted in knowing he knew more than the others for a change and was grinning like a cat.

“So you see, Pegasus,” Yugi concluded, “the thing we want to know is if you’ve seen or heard anything unusual or mystical happening in Domino recently; anything that might have to do with some of the encounters we’ve had in the past to explain why our memories have disappeared.”

Pegasus perked up, having slowly begun to lean tiredly against his hand while Yugi gave a long-winded explanation as to why he called the meeting. “Well I certainly don’t know,” Pegasus panned, causing several of them to cry out at once. Pegasus leaned back a little too comfortably in his chair and grinned. “But I do know one thing: your memories must still be inside of you, simply locked away somehow.”

“How do you know?” Teá asked. “You say it so confidently, yet none of us can recall any specifics.”

“Simple! The Egyptian god cards!” Pegasus announced, beaming. When his outburst was not met with an ooh-ing chorus, he relaxed again, looking dismayed. “Oh right, no memory. I suppose I should explain that, but at the moment the important thing to know is that I witnessed something the other day: a gut reaction to a certain phrase.”

Pegasus picked up a remote and pointed it upwards. A screen began to descend from the ceiling. Pegasus powered up his desktop and opened a file, projecting it onto the screen. A photograph of three cards appeared at once.

“These are three cards I created long ago known as the Egyptian god cards: Ra, Slifer, and Obelisk. At one point, these cards were held by a person by the name of Marik Ishtar you, Yugi, and your spiritual counterpart, the pharaoh Atem, and Seto Kaiba respectively. More on that in a moment. With a sense of obligation to make up for past wrongdoings, I took the recently returned Egyptian king under my wing and made preparations for you reunion, believing I alone suffered the memory loss that I supposed came with the loss of a millennium item. During my first meeting with Atem, Kaiba was present. I spoke of past events and the god cards, but Kaiba called them the ‘Egyptian’ god cards quite naturally before I ever specified they were Egyptian. Therefore, the memory of the cards, and likely the other memories, are still within him and so within each and every one of you.”

The crowd stared up at the screen in awe, staring at the image before them.

“That thing’s kinda freakin me out a bit,” Joey said, pointing to the image of Ra.

Mai gave a shiver and nodded in agreement.

“Seto used to have Obelisk in his deck,” Mokuba announced. He held a tablet up smartly and winked. “I looked it up in his duel disk’s memory and found the old data log information. Though there was no programmed hologram, the card’s memory was still registered and added to the archive.”

“There was never any hologram made, nor was there any need. The gods themselves were summoned in honest battle when played,” Pegasus said. “It’s no wonder Kaiba-boy was able to remember something with such a profound impact.”

“Just a minute, Pegasus,” Yugi interjected. “You said something about a pharaoh—my spiritual counterpart? The pharaoh Atem. Is that the same Atem who you awarded the sponsorship to earlier today?”

Pegasus flashed him a grin. “Very good, little Yugi! You and he share a remarkable connection: your very souls are linked. From what I understand of the passages recorded in my memoir, Atem—or Yami as you once called him—was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh whose spirit was sealed away in an item known as the millennium puzzle. Your grandfather found the puzzle on one of his expeditions and gifted it to you. Once solved, you were able to summon this spirit. He was a friend and ally to you and he saved myself and the world a number of times. Once I learned of his existence, I set out to find a way to repay him, only to discover at the end of my search that his soul was freed and returned to the spirit realm. I believe that his disappearance is linked to the disappearance of our memories. The memories we’ve forgotten have all been linked in some way to him and the millennium items.”

Here Pegasus began flipping through a number of photos depicting Atem. There were side-by-side pictures of him and Yugi moments before and after many sudden appearances. Then, there were pictures of several ancient artifacts of gold, each depicting a strange eye. Accompanying these were pictures of hieroglyphics from the museum, then pictures of strangers in ancient clothing, each stamped with a KC in the corner. Footage from Kaiba’s camera in the memory world. Yugi looked at one who held a scepter thinking he looked a great deal like Kaiba. Another odd character reminded him of his grandfather. And there was the dark magician girl! And beside her, looking severe, he thought the stranger looked familiar. A bit like the dark magician.

Pegasus clicked to another picture which assembled all the millennium items together. “In order to gather more information, I’ve called in a few experts whose lives have been dedicated to the protection of these items and the guarding of the pharaoh’s sacred tomb. Allow me to introduce to you the Ishtar family: Ishizu, Marik, and Odion.”

On cue, three figures entered Pegasus’ office, nodding politely at the group: a tall young woman, a young man, and another more imposing man. Pegasus handed the remote to the woman, Ishizu. As she made her way behind his desk, the other two stood with the group, watching her work patiently. The young one, Marik, leaned against the desk beside Bakura and gave him an appraising look. Bakura smiled nervously.

Ishizu clicked through the pictures slowly, speaking in a voice which commanded attention. “I’m afraid what little light we might shed on this subject has become frail in the pharaoh’s absence. Though our family has watched over the pharaoh’s tomb for centuries, we, too, have lost our memory of such things. It is only through what has been written and recorded that we have understood what events have passed and our role in guiding them.”

“We know the items and their history, as well as the powers each can grant to a worthy host,” Marik added, “but there exists no such item which has the power to take away one’s memory.”

“Even so,” Ishizu continued, “it is our firm belief that the memory loss is connected to these items and the ancient past, in keeping with Mr. Pegasus’ theory. Currently, the only link we have to the past and the spirit realm rests with the returned king Yami—the great pharaoh Atem. The millennium items were buried in the wreckage of the pharaoh’s tomb upon the completion of the ceremonial duel. I believe that this burial returned their power to the original bearers in the spirit realm, similar to the burial of a pharaoh’s belongings as a way of sending them with him to the afterlife. If the pharaoh was able to return to the living realm, there must exist a power in the spirit realm strong enough to make the leap between world possible, and I believe that power comes from the millennium items.”

Marik picked up the next point fluidly. “If the pharaoh has a way to go between the worlds, it is our hope that he has a way of communicating between them as well. If all memories connected to the millennium items has disappeared, then the key to retrieving them might be found with them. At the very least, we can guess that the answer as to why our memories disappeared must have something to do with the items in the ancient past. If we can communicate to the past, we can find out what to do about the present situation.”

Ishizu clicked to the next slide, depicting a bare-bones diagram of the proposed situation. “It’s all a little overwhelming, I’m sure, but doesn’t it feel familiar, standing in this room of strangers? Does it not feel as if we have already met?”

The group exchanged looks. Most of them seemed to agree that what she said was true. The only one left completely in the dark was Valon. He sat against the corner of Pegasus’ desk, nodding in an effort to look informed.

Bakura looked at Marik who had resumed his appraisal. “You … do seem rather familiar to me,” he admitted. “But I also feel a sort of dread looking at you. I—I don’t mean any offence; It’s nothing to do with _you_ , really. But I must admit, I feel as if I’ve done something to wrong you in some way. I feel a sense of guilt.”

“I hold no grudge against you,” Marik said. “I don’t even know you. I only knew the other you—the dark one. The spirit of the ring. I’m glad not to personally recall that time of my life, but I have reviewed the Battle City footage with Pegasus and discovered quite a lot.”

Bakura’s hand unconsciously moved over his chest.

“So what are we supposed to do now?” Tristan asked. “Now that we’re all on the same page, how do we move forward?”

“Yeah. I’m starting to feel uncomfortable with how much important stuff is happening around us that we don’t remember,” Duke said.

Yugi stood up, his eyes shining bright with excitement. “I think the first order of business is to meet with this pharaoh!” he said. “If this ancient spirit has returned to our world, there must be an important reason for it. Maybe he knows about the memory loss and there’s some secret behind it all—a secret connected to these millennium items.”

“I doubt it,” Pegasus said, cutting through Yugi’s dramatic optimism. “Our poor friend Atem was shocked to discover that he was not remembered. While I agree that we may find the answers working with him and his otherworldly court, he knows no more than any of us. Perhaps he knows even less!”

A collective groan passed between them in a wave of pure annoyance as Pegasus smiled his chipper smile over their hung heads. Mokuba looked smug at his side.

“Don’t worry; Seto is Atem’s personal bodyguard,” he said. “Through him, Pegasus and I can know where Atem is at all times. It’ll be a snap to organize a meeting with him and the rest of you. If you ask nicely, I might just text Seto right now and arrange the whole thing.”

As if summoning Kaiba by speaking his name, an emergency feed opened on the projected screen. A small red KaibaCorp logo illuminated the corner of the video. Everyone watched as the camera was clouded over with a white fog. They could only make out the vaguest shapes within that cloud. The camera moved violently and the sound of labored breathing became closer and louder through the office speakers, as if a microphone had been pressed to someone’s mouth.

“Send back-up!” Kaiba hissed into the collar-phone. “There was a trap in the hostel—a strange gas!”

Pegasus’ hands flew across the keyboard as he summoned all nearby security to the scene. “Cover your nose and eyes and try to inhale as little gas as possible,” he instructed. “Help is on the way: five minutes or less. Get out of the gas before you breathe in anymore of it!” He quickly muted the sound and turned off the projector in case anything more should happen, in order to spare the others.

“What’s happening?” Teá asked.

Serenity hugged Joey, staring in horror at the blank screen. “Do you think it could be a terrorist attack?”

“This tournament is an international affair covered by major networks. It’s possible. An attack during such a high profile event would be the perfect place to advertise a political platform.”

“Bakura! You say that so mechanically. Kaiba’s just been attacked!” Yugi scolded.

“Not Kaiba,” Pegasus corrected. “It was an attack on Atem.”

The room fell silent. Then Ishizu spoke. “What enemies does the pharaoh have in a world which does not remember him?”

Pegasus closed his eyes, resting his forehead against his clasped hands. “One who discovered his existence through our same methods. One related to someone involved with the pharaoh and the items. One who calls herself Heidi, the sister of an ex rare hunter called Seeker.”

“Heidi and Seeker? Hide and Seek?” Joey said. “What kinda game is this?”

“A dangerous one,” Pegasus snapped. “It is not to be taken lightly. Her attacks are becoming more frequent now, and I fear a larger plan is at work. She wants revenge on the pharaoh for the shadow game that destroyed her brother’s soul and she’s been able to move freely through my tournament and set dangerous traps twice without raising suspicion—without even being seen. My efforts to identify her have thus far been unsuccessful. She’s closing in. I fear there’s worse to come.”

 

The first thing Atem consciously registered was that his pillow smelled fresh like spring, comfortingly floral. The next was a pounding headache. He opened his eyes to a gentle light, filtered through pale blue curtains. This was not his room. It was not the hospital room. He felt the bed dip beside him and a cool hand covered his throbbing forehead.

“How do you feel?” Kaiba asked, keeping his voice soft.

Atem grunted in response.

“I have some ibuprofen here if you need it. The doctor recommended keeping some on hand.”

Atem heard the shake and clack of a pill bottle. He opened his eyes wider and sat upright. “What happened?” he asked.

“Opening your door detonated a trap. We found an empty gas capsule in the room later. The effects should ease up in an hour or two after some care. They examined you in the emergency room. You inhaled a non-lethal dose of an incapacitant; they suspect sleeping gas. A gift from your little friend, Heidi.”

“She wants me dead, not knocked out.” Atem sat against his pillow, groaning. Sitting up too quickly sent a shock to his head.

“Here, lean this way, and try not to speak so much. I think she was trying to send a message. She has the resources to find you and get to you when she chooses. Or, she did, anyway.”

“Did?”

“Look around,” Kaiba said.

Atem opened his eyes again and took in his surroundings. He was in a beautiful room, though one with an unusual, befitting theme. The carpeting was a deep, dark blue, and nearly looked black if he squinted. The walls were an neutral off-white, not overwhelming in the early morning light. The furniture was a dark, rich walnut color. The furniture did surprise him in their simple designs. Atem expected something that looked more modern and expensive. Everything certainly was, but not in the overbearing style he might’ve expected of the Kaibas. Everything looks clean but not sterile; simple, but not plain. It was designed for function. There was a square desk at one end of the room beside a set of tall bookshelves. In one corner of the room was a black corner sofa and matching coffee table, with a selection of crisp, untouched magazines fanned on top. There was a newspaper as well and he knew when he looked they’d all be the most current. Beside his bed was a bedside table with a drawer up top and a cabinet beneath. On top was a square reading lamp, a glass of water, and the now-open bottle of ibuprofen. The room was impersonal: a guest room.

“My estate has the best security in Domino—arguably in the country,” Kaiba said, recapturing his attention. “Until all of this gets resolved, you’ll be staying here. Feel free to explore the grounds when you’re feeling better, but stay out of Mokuba’s room unless he invites you in. He doesn’t like people snooping through his things. He’ll be out most of the day, duelling, but he’ll be joining us for dinner. So far, Pegasus has done a good job of keeping Heidi’s attacks undercover for the sake of publicity. The attack last night caused some commotion amongst the other duellists at the hostel. We reported it as a gas leak, seeping through the air vent in your room, and had the building evacuated to keep up the ruse while my team inspected the room. I couldn’t find your box of things.” At this, Kaiba’s face turned dark. “If she stole your records—”

“Pegasus has them,” Atem interjected. He was feeling more awake now. “I brought them along with me to our meeting. I wanted him to hold onto everything for me until I found a place to settle more permanently in the living world. It isn’t wise to keep important documents in a place as temporary at the hostel, especially with so many people always coming in and out. Yugi taught me that after Joey’s finalist entry card was stolen in Duellist Kingdom.”

Kaiba’s features relaxed visibly and he nodded. “Smart move.”

Atem reached for the pill bottle on the nightstand when he noticed something strange. For once in his life, he was wearing long sleeves. The fabric bunched up on his arms and the end of the sleeve reached over his thumb. It was much too big. Slowly, he reached up to his throat and felt a soft, low collar around his neck. He was wearing one of Kaiba’s shirts. It was one he’d never seen before. For starters, it was dark blue, and he’d never seen Kaiba wear anything but button-up shirts and turtlenecks. He shifted. He did not feel the stiff pants of Yugi’s school uniform. Instead, he felt warm cotton.

Kaiba turned and walked over to a small dresser. He cleared his throat. “I have your other clothes here, if you’d like,” he said. “I had your new things washed this morning when the staff arrived. In the meantime, I lent you those. Though maybe something of Mokuba’s would have fit better.”

“This is fine,” Atem said. He pulled the sleeves up his wrists and took a pill, closing the bottle. He noticed the bandages on his arms had been changed again. He wondered how much longer he’d have to wear them. The sleeve fell over his hand again and he smiled. He’d only ever worn long sleeves once in his memory: the day he met Duke. It had been a pleasant change. It was warm and comfortable. He’d often wished Yugi would wear the shirt more often, especially considering how often they ended up somewhere cold or windy. The uniform jacket was never enough. He never had that problem in Egypt; there, it was easy to embrace the no-sleeves lifestyle.

Atem snuggled down into the bed where it was warm, tucking the covers over his head. He did so to block out the growing light in the room, but he also did not want Kaiba looking at him. He’d felt his face begin to tingle as he wondered exactly who had dressed him and he was sure he was turning pink. The bed was much softer than the one in the hostel and it didn’t make noise every time he moved. The pillow was plump and he could feel the air leak slowly out of it when he plopped his head back upon it. The comforter was fluffy and heavy. The room smelled like lavender. He wanted nothing more than to settle down and go back to sleep.

The bed dipped again. Kaiba’s hand nudged his hip. “Are you hungry?” he asked, voice muffled by the comforter.

So he wanted _one_ thing more. Atem tossed off the covers and nodded. He began to sit up and turn down the corner of his covers to get up. Kaiba’s hand stopped him, tucking the corner down again.

“Don’t. I’ll have it brought to you.” Kaiba pulled out his phone and tapped the surface, thumb moving rapidly. “Do you need anything else?” he asked.

“I’m all taken care of,” Atem said. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” Kaiba turned to watch the door. He sat a bit hunched over, his arms crossed.

Atem lay back against the pillows, watching him. This tense posture of his was familiar. He’d often looked for it in Seto. The priest may have shared similar personality traits—his stubbornness, loyalty, and pride—but the two of them were very different. Their experiences set them apart, made them different people. It showed in little ways. For instance, Kaiba’s posture changed between public and private. Seto was always erect and at attention, practicing perfect posture even in private, but with a strangely relaxed grace. Kaiba always looked tense, even in a relaxed posture. It was funny to Atem. He’d always wanted to make a joke about it. He made them privately to himself now.

He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly. He’d never imagined a scenario like this. It felt good, having Kaiba close beside him. Having the weight of him nearby was a solid reminder that he was here; that he was home. Perhaps it was selfish the way he allowed Kaiba to consume his thoughts as often as he did. He told himself he ought to think more of Yugi and his friends. The bonds they’d held were closer, but the more elusive bond pulled to him. And that last look had haunted him for three long years, giving him shame, giving him hope.

He rolled his head to the side and looked at Kaiba. He hadn’t left yet. He found this odd. “Don’t you have work to do?” Atem asked. He bit his tongue. He hadn’t meant to sound so passive-aggressive. The last thing he wanted was for Kaiba to leave, but the question came out loaded.

“I do most of the company work after hours. In the meantime, Mokuba handles things. I’ve been training him to manage the business. I’ll be making him an equal partner soon, not simply a figurehead vice president. He’s taken to it very well. Pegasus consulted him for much of the tournament’s major designs.”

“No wonder it’s so well-regulated,” Atem said. Mokuba had put a lot of thought into everything from duellist housing to district entry regulations.

Kaiba smiled. “He’s done a proud job.”

“So what are you doing in the meantime?” Atem asked. He watch Kaiba straighten up slightly.

“This,” Kaiba said. He turned, placing a hand on the other side of Atem’s hip. He leaned back comfortably and shrugged. “For most of these three years, I’ve been doing my own pet project, working on KaibaCorp security. Right now, that means watching out for you.”

The sight of Kaiba leaning over his hips so casually made Atem’s legs go numb. He spoke. “Before when I asked you about duelling, you lashed out about my leaving,” he said. “That was when I spoke of destiny.”

Kaiba looked at him.

“Did you remember something?”

“No,” Kaiba answered immediately. He gripped the comforter. “Nothing but a feeling.”

“And what feeling was that?” Atem asked. He felt his heart beat anxiously.

Kaiba hesitated. He looked at the pharaoh. Even bundled up as he was, laying below him, he was still as commanding as ever. “Anger. Outrage. Betrayal above all.”

“You never believed in my existence until the end of that duel. Why should you feel betrayed?”

Kaiba gripped the comforter tighter. Something made him want to grip Atem instead, to pull him forward, to face him eye to eye and shout words he could not find. “I don’t _know_ ,” he said, his voice gruff. He hated to admit it. There was very little in this world he hated than being ignorant. But Atem always managed to make him admit his failings.

“Kaiba?”

Kaiba flinched his hand away as he felt something warm covering it. Where it had been, Atem’s hand now sat limp. His heart pounded in his chest and he turned away, crossing his arms once more. All the cards were in Atem’s hand; it wasn’t fair. Silently, he fumed to himself. It wasn’t fair that Atem was so comfortable around him. It wasn’t fair that Atem knew all that came before. It wasn’t fair that he was staying silent about it all. He’d had it.

“Who were you?” he demanded.

Atem blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play games, pharaoh. Pharaoh, Yami, Atem—whatever name you give yourself; who were you?”

“King of Games; the one who stole your title,” Atem said. “You thought of me as Yugi, more than anything. I was a challenge, or an annoyance, I suppose.”

“No!” Kaiba rounded on him, planting his hands on either side of his torso. He leaned down, getting in Atem’s face. “I want to know the truth. I want to know who you were—why you’re so damned comfortable around me. Yugi and I were never close. We were barely friends. Is it because I’m the only one around who you know? Is it familiarity? Or am I forgetting something more important? I’m tired of trying to figure it out for myself! You’re holding out on me and I want to know! What do you know that I don’t!”

Atem stared up at Kaiba, his eyes wide. He could hear the blood rushing through his ears. He could answer however he liked. If he wanted, he could say what he himself thought of him. Kaiba was asking. He was so close and he was asking. Atem could feel Kaiba’s breath against his face. His eyes flicked down to his lips and quickly back up again. His arms were pinned at his side beneath the covers. He wanted to reach out, run his hand through Kaiba’s hair, consequences be damned, but he had no choice. And he had no words. He stared up at Kaiba, silent.

Kaiba gripped the covers until his knuckles turned white. He grimaced down at Atem. Why did his silence hurt? He felt his hands shake and he relaxed his hold. “Were you really nothing to me?”

Atem’s gaze grew hard. “Whatever I was, I was never nothing to you,” he snapped.

“Then tell me.”

“No.”

“Tell me!”

“Figure it out for yourself!”

“How?”

“Duel me!”

This came as a surprise to them both.

“What?” Kaiba asked, leaning back.

Atem paused, eyes wide, half-sunken in his pillow. “You heard me,” he said, wavering.

“What will that prove?”

“We … we only ever seemed to duel. If anything could spark your memory, that could. You said you stopped when I left. So I’m here. Start again.”

Kaiba looked at Atem’s face long and hard, giving him a thorough examination. Then he nodded. “Fine. Tonight, after you’ve rested. We’ll have a duel. If I win, you tell me everything I want to know.”

“I’m rested now,” Atem insisted, pushing up against the covers, trying to wriggle out. Let me up; I’m tired of lying here.”

“Don’t be stupid. You’ve got a headache and you need your rest.”

“No. I want to get up and resolve this.”

Kaiba wrestled him down, pulling the comforter higher up around his shoulders. “At least wait an hour or two! You’re so impatient.”

“No more than you. Let’s hurry up so I can win this.”

“What makes you think _you’ll_ win?”

Atem stopped struggling and threw him a sarcastic look. “If you remembered the outcome of half the duels we’ve fought, you’d know better than to argue me on this point.”

Kaiba snatched up his pillow and plopped it on his face. “Rest. We’ll have plenty of time to duel later now that you’ll be staying here.” He moved away from the bed. At the desk across the way, he gathered up a number of papers and his laptop. He paused before he left the room, his hand on the handle of the door. “I’ll be back to check on you in an hour. Eat your breakfast and call if you need anything. I’ll be just across the hall.”

Atem nodded settling again. “You’d better have your deck prepared when evening comes around,” he said.

Kaiba shook his head, but Atem caught the flash of his smile as the door closed behind him.

But Kaiba returned in much less than an hour. It was not thirty minutes since he’d left Atem’s room that he found himself listening at the door to be sure he was still there. When he heard the clinking of cutlery, he knew all was right. He returned to his study, hastily typing up a report of the previous night’s affairs. But an hour later, he was up again, checking in on Atem. When the room was quiet, he cracked open the door. The lights were off and Atem was curled up comfortably in bed, apparently asleep. Still Kaiba’s heart thundered in his chest. Every time he grew conscious of the silence in his study, he was struck with the irrational urge to check to make sure Atem was still in his room, as if he might vanish the moment he turned away. Eventually, tired of the back and forth, Kaiba slipped quietly into Atem’s room and continued his work at the desk. There he could at least hear Atem breathing behind him.

Eventually, tired of sitting stiffly at the desk, Kaiba picked up his things and moved to the bed. He sat on the far side, propped up against the headboard. After awhile, he was finally able to relax. He sighed and slipped a bit lower. It was nice to take a day at home. It had been awhile since he’d just had time to breathe. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the computer on his lap. As he listened to Atem breathing quietly beside him, lulling him gently, a notification dinged on his laptop. Kaiba grunted and cracked one eye open. Pegasus.

“Not now,” Kaiba thought. He shut the laptop with a single cheeky finger and set it on the nightstand, grinning. He closed his eyes and sunk down until he was lying down at last. He sighed. Whatever Pegasus wanted, it could wait an hour’s nap.

 

Pegasus tucked his phone in his suit pocket and smiled at the group. “I’ve let our dear friend Kaiba know we’re on our way. If you could all get in the car and find yourselves a space, we’ll be shipping out.”

Everyone had agreed to meet up the morning after the attack to visit the Kaiba manor before reporting for another day of duelling. Atem would be out of the competition for another day. While this added to his public mystique, it caused many rumors to spread. The fake gas leak story was less troubling than the truth of the attack, but it was still a blemish for Pegasus’ shining reputation. But there was always drama at any tournament hosted by Industrial Illusions and the people had come to expect it. That’s why Pegasus standing outside a flower shop with a crowd of the top celebrity duellists holding arrangements and bouquets drew a number of paparazzi out so early in the morning. Pegasus smiled and waved at them as he herded everyone into a large black van, making sure they caught his best side.

As everyone crammed into the van they scattered petals of a variety of flowers and there was a great deal of crinkling and plastic rustling. The smell of fresh flowers was overwhelming. Bakura sneezed at least twice in the scuffle. Serenity gave him a tissue.

“Did all of us have to get flowers?” Joey complained, a dozen yellow daisies shoved under his nose. “And two of each? Kaiba didn’t even pass out!”

Pegasus clicked on his seatbelt as the car moved forward. His hands were empty and his flowers sat in the front seat with the driver. “It’s good manners. Both Kaiba and Atem have been through a troubling ordeal. It’ll be a lovely surprise.”

“I can’t even see my duel disk under all ’a this! It’s like I’m sitting in a bush!”

“Just think about how excited the pharaoh will be to see all of us Joey.” Yugi smiled at his bouquet of pink and yellow roses. “If it’s true we were once as close as Pegasus says, he must’ve missed us a lot over the years. I just hope nobody ends up crying.”

“If we do, I brought plenty of tissues,” Serenity said, waving a travel pack over her cosmos.

“I already cried when I first saw him the other day with Kaiba. I believe what Pegasus says is true. We must’ve been close. Even without knowing, I recognized him.”

“Don’t talk about me as if I’m not around, Miss Gardner. It’s poor manners. And besides, it makes me feel left out. I don’t intend to be side-lined at this reunion, especially after all the trouble I went through to get you all together.”

Everyone gave Pegasus their immediate attention.

“Wait, so you _did_ ensure we all came to Domino. Sending my invite to Duke’s shop in California, the letter for Bakura in Washington … you brought all of us to the tournament to see Atem?”

Pegasus smiled. “Of course. I owe him and you all a great debt. Besides, I’ve grown quite fond of your adventurous antics.”

“And of us,” Yugi concluded, giving Pegasus a brilliant smile.

Pegasus leaned back and turned his head, letting a curtain of silver hair hide his face. “It’s rude to put words in people’s mouths, Mutou,” he said. The others in the car laughed and he snatched up one of Yugi’s bouquets to hold in front of him.

“I’m starting to feel excited!” Yugi said. “It’s the same feeling I get when Teá comes home for the holidays. I feel like a long separation has finally ended.”

“But Yugi,” Tristan said. “You don’t even know this pharaoh guy. If anything, I feel nervous about meeting him. He sounds like a big deal.”

“Maybe he is, but he was our friend once. Whether we remember him or not, the bond of our friendship transcends all obstacles. Just as I can feel all of you in my heart, there’s something in it that pulls me to him. I felt it when I shook his hand on that stage, and I recognized the name Kaiba called him: Yami.”

“That was the name you gave him,” Pegasus said. “When you shared a body, before you understood him as someone separate, he was the ‘Other You’ or your ‘Darkness’ as you said. It was the only name you knew before Ishizu revealed him as pharaoh.”

“The name _I_ gave him?” Yugi thought back to their introduction at the second stage announcement. He remembered the look Kaiba had given him, the tone he’d spoke with. “Oh.”

Teá nudged closer to Yugi. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice low and comforting.

Yugi shook his head. “No, it’s nothing. It’s just … I don’t think Kaiba will be happy to see us.”

“Why’s that?”

He plucked a petal off one of the roses, rubbing its velvety surface between his fingers. “I think he was angry when we met yesterday—angry that I didn’t recognize Yami. I don’t know why he would be upset, but there was something about the way he got between us. It was almost like he snapped at me before he left.”

“That’s kind of him,” Teá said, smiling at the window.

Yugi nearly dropped his flowers. “What!”

“Well think about it: Kaiba doesn’t usually react strongly to anything unless he cares. He was upset with you on Yami’s behalf. Even without his memories, he must recognize him enough to care about how he’s feeling. He must’ve been sad when he realized you didn’t know him.” She smiled and looked out the window again. There was a soft expression in her eyes. “I wonder if they were friends.”

“He could certainly use one,” Joey said. “Aw, look! My star chips are covered in pollen!”

“Hey! Watch the flowers!”

“Joey, stop thrashing around! You can polish your dumb star chips when we get there!”

“But they’ll get all sticky!”

“Joey, you’re crushing me!”

“Whoa, hey, hey! Elbows, man! Watch it!”

“My cosmos!”

“If you children don’t stop rocking the van, I’m going to confiscate that duel disk for the remainder of the ride!” Pegasus threatened, trying to smooth out the wrinkles on his coat.

And he did.

 

Atem felt a comfortable weight against his chest. He smiled and a reach a hand down to pet one of the palace cats. He often woke up with one or two of them in his bead, though more often than not one of them was on his head. It was a pleasant change to have one that didn’t inhibit his breathing. Besides, Mana had told him it was good luck to wake with a cat on one’s chest. He petted its silky fur, waiting for it to purr.

Instead, he heard a very human sigh.

Atem opened his eyes. This was not a cat. Lying in bed beside him was Kaiba, curled up with his head on Atem’s chest and an arm over his waist. He was breathing deeply and slowly, evidently asleep.

Atem felt his heart beginning to race. It pounded almost painfully in his chest. Kaiba! What was Kaiba doing beside him? He felt himself grow hot, smothered beneath the covers. There was no excuse for Kaiba to be there that he could possibly think of apart from one. He was sure the drum in his chest would wake him.

How many times had Atem imagined such a scenario in Egypt? He carefully wrapped his arm around Kaiba’s shoulder, daring himself to do what he wanted most. Kaiba shifted and Atem shut his eyes tight, hoping even such a fragile excuse as being asleep might spare him whatever reaction awaited him, but Kaiba hadn’t woken. He had simply settled in closer. Atem opened his eyes and sighed with relief. He remained cautious however, staring down at Kaiba in awe. Was this okay?

As the minutes passed, his heart began to beat regularly again. He allowed himself to enjoy the quiet moment. With a smile that warmed his whole heart, Atem closed his eyes. Kaiba was a delightful heat pressed close to him and the smell of his shampoo mingled with the fresh sheets, calming him. He wondered what Kaiba would think when he woke up. Had Kaiba intended to fall asleep beside him? Did he remember something while Atem had slept? Was it possible that while Atem had been watching him all this time, Kaiba had been watching him as well? Kaiba stirred again and Atem thought he heard him mumbling. Then he realized the noise was coming from outside.

The voices drew closer. “This is the room we gave him.” It was Mokuba. “There ought to be enough space for your flowers, but I don’t know if there’ll be a seat for each of you.”

Atem panicked. Whatever Kaiba felt, there was no way he’d allow himself to be caught off guard in such a compromising position. Should he wake him? But was he even aware of his position? In a flash of clarity, Atem wriggled out of the bed and flung himself on the couch, snatching up one of the magazines and beginning to leaf through it mindlessly just before he heard the knock on his door.

“Come in,” he called, deceptively calm.

“Hey, Atem. I brought some people I think you’ll—Seto?”

Atem leaned forward on the couch and waved. “I’m over here.”

Mokuba opened the door wider and saw him. “Oh. I thought you’d be resting.”

“I was, but I got bored. Aren’t you supposed to be downtown for the duels?”

Mokuba grinned. “Not until twelve. Celebrity duellists arrive around lunchtime to give the other duellists a chance to battle each other without distractions. Since we’ve got the time, we decided to come visit you!”

Atem leaned to look past the door. “We?”

Appearing from behind a massive wall of flowers came the beaming faces of Atem’s friends. At the front of the crowd stood Pegasus, waving merrily. “Surprise, pharaoh! Look who we’ve brought to see you!”

He gasped, dropping his magazine and leaping to his feet. “You! You’re—you’re all here! Everyone!” From a hoard of pink and yellow flowers, cosmos, and daisies emerged one particularly friendly face. “Yugi!” Atem cried. He rushed forward a step and half tripped as he stopped himself. He’d forgotten. “But do you … ”

Yugi’s smile weakened. “No, we don’t remember you. I’m sorry, Yami.”

Atem looked at him, tears welling up in his eyes. That voice saying that name. His heart ached happily.

“But we know now!” Yugi added, smile brightening once more. He passed Atem the bigger of his two bouquets. “Pegasus told us everything. We all wanted to meet you again, to tell you that we still consider you a dear friend, even if we don’t know you. We’re determined to help.”

“We want to hurry up and remember you,” Teá said, giving him a wink. “We’re not about to let you try to solve this on your own.”

Joey sprang forward and looped an arm around Atem’s shoulders. “You didn’t think you could get rid of us that easy, didja?” he asked.

Tristan took the other side, digging his knuckles roughly into Atem’s hair. “Next time you try to run out on us, you’re gonna have to run further than just the afterlife, pal.”

Atem laughed and hugged the both of them tightly to him. Then all at once, he was crying. Happy tears rolled down his face as Joey and Tristan danced him around, petals littering the floor. Their racket woke Kaiba, who lifted himself on one elbow and rubbed his eyes, trying to process the chaos in the room. Joey broke off from the other two and leap onto the bed, flinging Kaiba up with a cry of surprise.

“How can ya be sleeping at a time like this! Get up! It’s a party, Kaiba!”

“Stop jumping!” Kaiba shouted, pulling up his legs to avoid getting stepped on. A bouquet smacked him in the face and he fell off the bed. He flung the flowers to the side with a violent gesture. He grabbed the top cover and swiped it away, catching Joey’s foot and forcing him to plant himself face-first on the bed. “That’s enough, you yapping little dog! What, do you need me to let you outside to piss? What the hell are you doing in my house!”

Atem tossed his flowers on the couch and rushed to help Kaiba to his feet. Mokuba stood beside them, smiling guiltily. “Sorry Seto. Pegasus and I sent you a message a bit ago, letting you know we’d all be coming over. We wanted to see how Atem was holding up.”

Kaiba groaned as another pair of arms helped him to his feet. “So good to see you, Kaiba!” Pegasus chirped.

Kaiba shook off Pegasus’ arms and leaned on Atem, glaring at his business partner. “Okay you’ve seen him; he’s fine. Now get out.”

“But Kaiba! I was invited!”

Atem laughed. He looked at Mokuba and gave him a grateful smile. He felt positively giddy, seeing everyone together at last! He hugged Kaiba, his cheek against his torso, giving him a firm squeeze. Kaiba looked down at him, eyes wide and mouth hung open. “Thank you for inviting them here, Kaiba,” Atem said. He released him, still smiling up at him.

“But—I wasn’t—”

Pegasus clapped a hand on his back. “Yes, it was such a kind gesture on your part. Look how happy you’ve made him.”

Kaiba _did_ look. In an instant, Atem was surrounded again by his friends, each fighting for a chance to hug him and offer them their flowers. Atem’s face was completely red and soaked, his smile stretching from ear to ear. He was chattering excitedly, already absorbed in the group dynamic again. Kaiba smiled.

“So tell me, Kaiba-boy,” Pegasus whispered, leaning with an elbow on his shoulder. “What were you doing sleeping in the lord pharaoh’s bed when we came in just now?”

Kaiba didn’t even bother looking at him. “Go step off a dock, Pegasus. Maybe the cold water will wash that rotting sludge out of your brain.”

Pegasus chuckled. “Always with that sharp tongue of yours.” He picked himself off Kaiba’s shoulder and gave him another solid pat. “I think I know better than you what you’re thinking now, even without the use of my eye. They aren’t the only ones I wanted to bring together, you know.”

Kaiba frowned and looked at him from the side. The ruckus in the room hid their quiet voices. Even so, he kept his voice down. “What are you saying, Pegasus?”

“You’re a duellist, Kaiba,” Pegasus said. “What was that phrase he’s so fond of saying? It’s your move?” He shrugged and winked as he walked away to join the happy crowd, leaving Kaiba with his thoughts.

Kaiba turned his attention back to the crowd. Duke and Mai were setting their flowers on the coffee table while they talked to Atem. Joey and Tristan were still hanging from his arms, trying to talk over everyone else. Bakura sat on the only free spot on the couch with Serenity, sharing the corner. Valon was lingering on the edge of the scene leaning on the door, but he waved politely. As for Yugi and Teá, they were busy chatting with Mokuba, who sent for several vases of water at their request.

The mansion had never been so noisy, but it was pleasant. Even Kaiba managed to smile. Atem looked up from the group and their eyes met momentarily. Atem gave him a heartfelt smile. Kaiba felt his ears burning and he turned away to clear his things from the bedside table. He cleared his throat and addressed Mokuba as he strode to the bedroom door. “I’ll be in my study until the noise in this house reaches a livable decibel again.”

Atem watched Kaiba go and felt his heart flutter. Had Kaiba … blushed? He caught the edge of a pink ear and laughed. He shook his head. This was fantastic. Before he could really savor the moment, he was pulled into another conversation, but he didn’t mind. He would talk to Kaiba later. Right now, his friends were surrounding him. There was so much to discuss.

 

“Wow. Your deck has certainly evolved since I last saw it.”

Atem shuffled through Yugi’s cards as he sat on the floor, surrounded by his friends. Pegasus sat on the couch, flipping through magazines with Mai. Valon sat beside her, napping with his feet up on the coffee table. Bakura, Serenity, and Teá were sitting on the bed, watching Atem, Tristan, Yugi, and Joey sorting through each other’s decks. Duke was sitting at the desk, answering texts. It was a quiet moment after greetings, before everyone would begin trying to figure things out.

“I can’t help but notice the Dark Magician is missing. The Dark Magician Girl is gone as well. You wouldn’t trade them or sell them, I know. What have you done with them?” His expression grew serious. “There are rare hunters on the street, having a bit of a renaissance. Has someone taken them?”

Yugi looked guilty for half an instant, then he shook his head. He remembered the strange figures from Pegasus’ presentation. “I put them away. There was something about them. Every time I looked at them, it was like they were looking back at me. I couldn’t understand why they looked so familiar to me—as if they were real people—until last night. Pegasus showed us pictures of them in Ancient Egypt. I think part of me remembered them. Actually,” Yugi sat up on his knees, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled the two cards out and held them in front of him. “I brought them with me today. Something about them feels strange. I’ve been keeping them in this box my grandpa gave me, trying to keep them out of sight and out of mind, but I was compelled to pick it up this morning. It felt warm. The cards did too, like there’s a sort of energy coming from them. I thought you might be able to make something of it.”

Atem took the offered cards, his hand shaking with anticipation. He had an idea. “Joey! Pass me my duel disk. It’s just behind you, leaning on the nightstand. Hurry!”

Joey tossed the disk to him and Atem slipped it over his arm. He stood up and motioned for his friends to back away. Those on the bed made room for the others and there was a stirring of interest in the room as everyone gathered around, brought together by Atem’s sudden urgency. He raised his arm and activated the duel disk. He didn’t bother inserting his deck, leaving the duel disk in preview mode. He raised the two cards and placed them on two spots on the surface of the disk. “Mahad! Mana!” he said in commanding voice. “Can you hear me?”

Then, the projection came to life. The Dark Magician emerged, opening his eyes. He turned to kneel before Atem. “My pharaoh. I was hoping I might see you again soon. We have been hard at work, searching for the answer to your current predicament.”

The Dark Magician Girl blinked and looked around the room. She spotted Teá and Yugi. “Teá Gardner!” she cheered. “It’s been so long! I’ve missed you. The last time we met, you were duelling in the arctic sector of the virtual world.” She hopped forward to embrace her, but her arms went right through. The Dark Magician peered back at her with an expression that almost suggested embarrassment. It was hard to tell with his stoic face. The Dark Magician Girl turned to Yugi, eyes sparkling. “And Yugi Mutou, waker of Timaeus, vessel of the pharaoh! I’ve shared the story of your adventures with my master and her friends in the pharaoh’s court.”

Atem raised a brow. “Your master? Are you not Mana?”

She turned around and winked at him. “Nope! We may share a similar appearance, but like you and Yugi, we’re very different! I’ve been trying to reach Yugi for so long! I worried only you could call upon the guardians. Looks like I was right. Still, you’re together! You were able to summon us!”

“Please calm yourself, Dark Magician Girl,” Mahad said, his voice expressing more weariness than his face ever could. “We have news to convey.”

“Call me Magici. Dark Magician Girl is too long. Besides, it doesn’t sound like a name so much as a title in your two realms. I should have a nice name too. I don’t go around calling you Dark Magician, do I, Mahad?”

Mahad covered his eyes with a steadying hand. “Sometimes I wish you would. You’re much too informal.”

“What, you want me to call you ‘Master’ Mahad like Master Mana? Or Mister? You can forget it.”

“The cards are alive,” Tristan said, mouth hanging in awe.

“The Dark Magician Girl is arguing with the Dark Magician,” Bakura confirmed.

Serenity leaned up on her elbows. “Wow! It’s like a live Duel Monsters movie! Her voice is so cute!”

The Dark Magician Girl turned around to wink at Serenity. “Not a movie—I’m the real deal! And call me Magici!”

“Mah-gee-shee?” Joey enunciated carefully. “I dunno, that feels kinda weird.”

“Well get used to saying it,” she said, pouting comically.

“Magici … ” Mahad said with infinite patience.

She whirled around happily, gripping her wand for joy. “You finally said it! Oh, I’ve been waiting years!”

“The news, Magici.”

She suddenly pulled herself upright at attention. “Yes. Sorry, Mahad.” She twisted her wand, looking abashed and bowed politely to Atem. “Sorry. I veered off topic.”

Mahad rose at last and approached Atem. “Seto, Mana, and myself have been studying the millennium items extensively since we spoke at the museum. With two days of study, we have found that, accompanying their own power, there was another magic cast upon them. A magic possessed only by the gods.”

Atem was shaken to realize it had truthfully only been two days since he had been standing in Pegasus’ office. So much had happened since then. His entire perception of time had been thrown for a loop. “Do you know the nature of this magic? What is its purpose?”

Valon leaned in to whisper in Mai’s ear, “Did that guy just say Seto? Like Kaiba?”

Mai shushed him.

“Seto and Isis have spoken at length. It appears to be a prayer your father spoke in regards to … ” Mahad paused, having now spotted Bakura. “In regards to the tragedy of Kul Elna.”

Atem shivered.

Bakura sat up straighter on the bed, one hand pressed to his chest. “Excuse me, sir.”

Mahad acknowledged him. The air was heavy.

Bakura stood. “What is Kul Elna?”

“A village of one hundred. In our time, a man of the court betrayed the morals of the king to create a power that would bring wrongfully won prosperity to Egypt and its people. Ninety-nine people of Kul Elna were slaughtered to create the millennium items. The man, Aknadin, attempted to justify these actions by calling it a village of criminals and thieves.”

Bakura clutched his shirt, beginning to shake.

“Bakura? Are you okay?” Serenity pulled his hand away gently.

“I’m fine. I just feel strange.”

“You were once the bearer of the millennium ring. Though your memories are hidden deep within you, it appears you suffer the effects of the horrors he has inflicted upon you as his vessel.”

Serenity put her arm around Bakura and helped him steady himself. “Come on, Bakura. Let’s go to the kitchen and see if we can get you a cup of tea or something.”

Bakura nodded and allowed himself to be lead away.

“I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you,” Mahad said, giving a slight bow.

Bakura smiled politely over his shoulder. “It’s fine. I’m not sure why I find this so upsetting. I just need a moment to compose myself. Please, carry on and let us know the news when we come back.”

The group waited patiently while Serenity and Bakura retreated down the corridor. When they were gone, all eyes returned to Mahad.

“We do not know the specifics of the prayer yet, but the spell cast in return was quite powerful. Seto says that he is certain, without a doubt, that this prayer is the cause of your memories being locked away. That is one of the few attributes of the spell that we’ve been able to access and analyze.” Mahad knelt before Atem once more, looking grave. “Our magic is still weak from the effort of sending you between realms. We are slowly recovering. Even so, I’m afraid I cannot be summoned long. I have already become weary.”

The Dark Magician Girl stood beside him. She bowed to Atem. “In order to help give the others time to rest, please summon me to speak between the realms. Since my magic comes from the realm of the beasts, it has not been burdened by the seal on the millennium items.”

Atem was startled. He looked at Mahad. “What do you mean? Aren’t Mahad and the others’ powers still their own?”

Mahad bristled. “I’m sorry, my pharaoh. A great deal of our power comes from the millennium items; that is why our recovery is taking so long. We used our own magic to send you away, unaided by the items. The spell has been a protective seal on the items since the day you returned. We did not concern ourselves with this before as we had no need of the items after the powers of the dark realm were banished.”

“The shadow games,” Atem whispered.

Mahad nodded. “Now that the items have become an issue once more between our realms, we will do whatever we can to hasten our study of them. Please keep yourself safe in the meantime. I will send word through Magici should we discover anything more. For now, I’m afraid I must retire.”

Atem nodded and removed the Dark Magician card from his duel disk. The projection faded, and Mahad with it.

The Dark Magician Girl smiled kindly. “Don’t look so worried, pharaoh. We’ll find a way to sort this out. I promise to take good care of Mahad for you. In fact, Mana and Seto and I have been by his side constantly since you first summoned him. Seto hasn’t been able to spare a moment for Kisara and she’s starting to show her Ka. I wouldn’t be surprised if she started breathing fire when she speaks. It’s starting to affect the four white dragons in my realm!”

Atem snorted, remembering Seto’s friend. He’d gotten to know her in the spirit realm. The image of Kisara spouting white and blue flames through his palace was as equally humorous as terrifying. To think her temper could reach so far as to touch the Blue Eyes White Dragons in the realm of beasts was impressive. He felt sympathy for his poor priest.

“I leave it to you, then,” Atem said. As she waved goodbye, he removed her card as well. He took off the duel disk and rubbed his sore arm. He handed the duel disk back to Joey to put away and attempted to return Yugi’s cards.

Yugi stopped him. “You can hold onto them for now,” he said. “You’ll need the cards if you’re planning on talking to them again.”

“I could visit their portraits at the museum,” Atem protested. “The cards belong to you.”

“I won’t be using them. I haven’t for three years.”

Atem hesitated, his arm still outstretched.

Yugi smiled. “Magici said she’d be contacting you. You’ll be wanting to keep that card close in case she does. Like a cell phone.”

Pegasus clapped his hands, startling everyone. “That’s right! A cell phone.” He reached into his suit jacket and fumbled through the pockets. He retrieved something gold from it and held it out for Atem. “You left this in your box of documents. You’ll be needing it, especially now that you’ve reunited with your friends.”

Atem turned the item over. It had a sheet of black glass on one side and a case engraved with the pattern of the millennium puzzle on the other. “A smartphone,” he said. He remembered he’d seen Kaiba use one frequently. He’d never tried it himself.

“I’ll leave the charger on the table here for you. I’d recommend plugging it beside the bed. Don’t go downloading too many games, now! Oh, and you left this in the box as well.” Pegasus put a small medical box on the table beside the cellphone charger. Atem had forgotten the salve the doctor had given him for his arms and ankles. He’d have to apply it again later.

“Let me see! I want to add my number to your contacts,” Yugi said.

Atem obliged, handing him the phone. As soon as Yugi entered his information, Joey snatched up the phone and began to put in his. The phone travelled around the room as everyone put themselves in Atem’s contacts.

“There,” Yugi said. “Now you’ll have a way to contact all of us at a moment’s notice.”

Atem powered on the screen and found the contact list easily. Pegasus and Kaiba had already entered their contacts, as well as the contact information for Mokuba and Roland—Kaiba’s personal assistant and housekeeper. He began messing around, exploring the functions. How convenient! He felt like he was becoming more and more a part of this world. He looked under the tab that said ‘Favorites’ with a little star. There was one number. Atem expected it to be Yugi, but Yugi had not starred his name. Kaiba had.

“If you pull back the case, there’s a small compartment for cards,” Pegasus said. “You can put your credit card in it if you don’t want to carry your wallet. I would recommend putting Mahad and Miss Magici’s card there so you have it on hand.”

“It still feels weird that she has a name,” Duke commented. “But a lot of weird things happened just now. It’s hard to isolate any of them.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to concentrate on a single duel,” Joey whined.

“Not like you were much good at it before,” Mokuba teased.

“Hey, don’t you get started with me! What, your brother leaves the room and you have to take his shots for him?”

“Somebody needs to take them,” Tristan said. “I was too busy processing to make a snappy comeback myself.”

Atem chuckled to himself as he tucked the Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician into the case, snapping it shut.

Mai rose and stretched with a satisfied sigh. “Alright, kids. I think it’s about time we got back downtown and gave his majesty here a good rest. Don’t forget, he was in the hospital last night.”

“I’m fine, truthfully,” Atem promised, but Mai held  up a hand, silencing him.

“Not another word Mister. We’ve bothered you long enough. We’ll just collect Serenity and Bakura and be on our way. Besides, I’m sure you’ll want some time to yourself to think about what we’ve just learned.”

Pegasus stood up and made his way from the room first. “Come along children. I’ll have the driver warm up the van.”

“Bye, Yami,” Teá said, giving his hand a firm squeeze. “Don’t forget to give Kaiba his flowers for us. His are the ones by the desk.”

“Yeah, I’ll send him a bill from my dry cleaner. My jacket’s covered in pollen.”

Tristan pushed Joey out of the room. “Later, Yami. Text us when you’re downtown again for the tournament. We’ll hook up in the inner districts.”

Duke and Valon waved, too cool to voice their goodbyes.

Yugi was the last to go. He gave Atem a quick, uncertain hug. “I’m sure once our memories return this won’t feel so awkward,” he said, giving a nervous chuckle. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Atem nodded. He watched Yugi’s retreating back, listening to the noisy group fade away down the hall. Mokuba closed the door behind them. Atem could hear his feet pattering down the hall to catch up. Then the room was quiet again. He sighed. The room felt emptier than before, even with the forest of flowers that surrounded him. He looked at the flowers carefully now. He noticed the flowers left for him had been tied in ribbons and bows of pink and red. The ribbons on Kaiba’s flowers were all shades of blue.

Not wanting to be alone, Atem picked up one of the arrangements: one of white asters. He pocketed his phone and opened the door to the hall, listening carefully. A few doors down, he heard the familiar shuffle of pages being turned. He knocked on a pair of double doors.

“Come in,” Kaiba said.

Atem entered the study, closing the door quietly behind him. The plastic of the bouquet crinkled in his hand. “The others left just now,” he said.

“I know. I heard them going down the hall. Mokuba popped in to say goodbye.” Kaiba typed something up on his computer then swivelled around in his desk chair. “Are you going back to bed?”

“I was thinking about exploring the house. I’m tired of resting and seeing the others made me feel restless.”

Kaiba tilted his head back slightly, eyeing Atem’s hand. “Pretty flowers,” he said. “Looking for a vase?”

“No. One of your people brought up plenty.” Atem held the flowers toward him. “These are for you, actually. There’s a pile of them in my room that they left you. I was wondering where I should put them.”

“Well don’t just stand there blocking the door. Bring them here.”

Atem crossed the room slowly, watching Kaiba. He had his full attention. Somehow, his quiet attention seemed loud after the visit from his more vocal friends. Atem held the flower’s at arm’s length. The sleeves of his shirt pulled back, exposing the ends of his bandages.

Kaiba took the flowers and set them carelessly on his desk. Instead of admiring or smelling them, he took Atem’s wrist and pulled it closer. He pushed the sleeve up his arm, slowly exposing the bandages.

The slow, soft touch of Kaiba’s hand on his arm sent electricity running up Atem’s spine. He was suddenly on edge, Kaiba consuming all his focus. He felt Kaiba’s fingers prodding delicately at his arms, turning them over, inspecting carefully.

“Does it hurt when I touch it?” he asked.

Atem shook his head. “It’s just sore,” he said. “The salve helps.”

“The doctor put some more on for you when we took you to the hospital. You’ll have to reapply it if you plan to shower tonight. There’s a full bathroom through the other door in your room. I’ve already had fresh soap and towels stocked.”

“Thank you, Kaiba.”

Atem was still very aware of Kaiba’s hands on his arm.

“So.” Kaiba looked him in the eye. “When did you move to the couch?”

Atem swallowed a lump as it began to rise in his throat. “Just before they came in. You were hugging me before. In your sleep.”

“Were you embarrassed they’d see?” Kaiba asked. His voice was steady and revealed no emotion. However, Atem felt his grip tighten nearly imperceptibly.

“I thought you might not like to be caught off guard,” Atem replied. “Especially if you didn’t know.”

“I don’t. And I didn’t. I suppose I should thank you.”

“I didn’t d—”

“How did you feel about it?” Kaiba cut him off.

Atem’s heart gave a leap. “What?”

“About waking up with me beside you? Even unintentional. Was it familiar? Has it happened before?”

Atem tried to pull away, but Kaiba pulled him back, keeping a firm grip on his hand now. Atem looked him in the eye. His eyes were dark and serious. And they were staring directly through him. “What are you implying, Kaiba?”

“We were more.” Kaiba no longer hid the accusation in his voice. He stood from his chair, standing over Atem. “I’ve had my suspicions about who you once were. I know there’s no evidence of it. But I know the potential was there. Did you ever try saying my first name to yourself, even if you never said it to me? Did you think of me in Egypt? Was I a factor in your return?” He held Atem’s hand up, two fingers to the inside of his wrist, feeling his pulse. “No need to answer. The evidence is here.”

Atem’s heart was racing.

“There’s something you’re not saying,” Kaiba said, his voice no more than a hush.

“We were never more than rivals until the very end.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true.”

Kaiba raised Atem’s wrist to his lips and kissed it, watching him.

Atem’s eyes blew wide and he gasped. The next moment, he broke away, backing towards the door. He wouldn’t put ideas in Kaiba’s head that had no right to be there, regardless of how he felt.

Kaiba stood in place, allowing him to retreat. “I said the potential was there,” Kaiba repeated. “I never said either of us acted on it. But I wanted to, didn’t I? And so did you—I’m sure now. You and I have been teetering on the edge of something greater for a long time, haven’t we?”

“You’re trying to fill a role you don’t want. You’re compensating what you think you want without all the facts.”

“Then remind me. Show me your hand. Stop being afraid of exposing yourself to me.” Kaiba took an experimental step forward. When Atem made no move to escape him, he continued forward. He continued until he was standing inches apart. He took his hands and slipped them on either side of Atem’s hips. Slowly, he slid them up his side, his right hand going up higher, ghosting Atem’s neck, his jaw, and he was tilting Atem’s chin upward and leaning in to whisper in Atem’s ear. His breath tickled and Atem shivered involuntarily. “You promised me a duel, pharaoh. And a good king keeps his word.”

“Then let’s duel. I’ll prove to you you’re wrong.”

Kaiba laughed, his warm breath puffing against Atem’s neck. “No, Atem. This is one duel that I will undoubtedly win.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the wait. I'm sorry for giving the Dark Magician Girl a nickname, but can you blame me? Who wants to type out "Dark Magician Girl" constantly? She deserves a name.
> 
> Anyway, I look forward to the next chapter. Please leave a comment—I'm tossing chapters into the void here.  
> Go read Marshmallons. We'll be collabing soon!
> 
>  
> 
> Find out about me:
> 
> https://dorkmagicianem.tumblr.com/about


	8. First Move

Kaiba stood before his desk and stared down at the polished wood surface, his mind blank as he felt the smooth, cool metal of the key gripped in his fist. His eyes were locked on the topmost drawer, unwavering. It had been three years since his last duel. How long had he locked his deck away? He rubbed his thumb over the key, willing his hand to move. If everything were really true, he would at last know the thrill he’d been chasing; he would at last duel the pharaoh once more, just like he wanted all this time. There was no reason to hesitate. Now was the time to take what was freely offered—what he desired most. What doubts were there that this would not live up to his expectations?

He inserted the key and turned the lock with a solid click.

Atem was waiting in the other room, preparing his deck. Atem and Yugi had once shared their deck, but now Atem’s deck was formed of the cards of his own choosing. It was probable he had acquired new cards during the tournament, trading amongst the other duellists. But Kaiba disregarded the thought. Atem, Yugi, and all their friends were of the sentimental variety and Atem would not trade away anything that had once been so precious to Yugi. He wondered just how many cards would be familiar.

Kaiba opened the drawer, the slow slide of roller giving way. The roller stuck in place, the drawer completely open. And Kaiba stared at the empty space.

For a fleeting moment, Kaiba felt his blood grow cold. His initial thought was that Mokuba had ignored his wishes and taken his deck after their call the other day, intent on carrying out his plan to reintroduce the Blue Eyes White Dragon into the public eye. But then he saw the flash of white out of the corner of his eye as the edge of his coat fluttered, caught by a draft from the open window. He remembered.

Kaiba approached his work coat and reaching into the inner pocket. From it, he retrieved his deck, all cards intact. He fanned them out between his hands, shuffling through, taking in the sight of his once familiar cards. The day Pegasus had called them into his office, something had compelled him to unlock the drawer. After his momentary panic in the office, searching for his three Blue Eyes cards, he’d put them back in his pocket and forgotten them, overwhelmed by all the mysterious happenings that saturated the last few days, enough so that by the time Mokuba called, he’d forgotten he’d ever opened the drawer in the first place.

He stared at his three Blue Eyes and felt a strange sensation, as if their eyes were upon him. He still did not understand why he had taken out his deck that day, but he felt as if they knew. He believed in the heart of the cards in his own way; he had his own bond with them. Was it possible they felt the events stirring around them? That they felt the draw of the Egyptian god cards? Without another thought, Kaiba shuffled the three cards away, deep in his deck. He did not like the way the eyes were watching him. He would go to sleep early tonight, get some real rest. Tomorrow he’d be more rational.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, trying to regain his composure. Atem was waiting for him. _So let him wait,_ a part of him said. That part of him was buried deep down. It was angry. It was not the first time it had made itself known. It whispered that Atem had kept _him_ waiting. It was yet another thing he did not understand and was a constant source of his frustration. He wanted to know everything, to understand everything. This duel might not provide him with his answers, but at least he’d be _doing_ something. He was tired of sitting around without making any headway. Heidi was out there at large with no leads. His memories were not his own to recall. He had been stuck in a rut for three years and it was all coming to a head. Something inside of him was ready to burst!

A knock on his bedroom door startled him from his thoughts. Before he could grant permission, Atem’s face emerged from the other side.

“You’ve been away for awhile. I wanted to check in and see if you’ve finished putting together your deck.”

Kaiba looked at his hand, knuckles white from holding too tightly. He exhaled.

“I’m pretty sure I haven’t made any changes since our last duel,” he said. He stood up and crossed the room, laying the deck in Atem’s hand. “Here. Think of a spot where you’ll be comfortable duelling and get us set up. I need to get a drink.”

Atem stepped aside as Kaiba brushed past him out the door. As Kaiba made his way down the hall, he called after him, “Aren’t you worried I’ll cheat and familiarize myself with your cards while you’re gone?”

Kaiba chuckled. “As if you don’t already know the most important ones,” he replied.

Atem smiled and entered Kaiba’s room and he turned his back once more.

Kaiba’s room was much the same as his own. It was largely impersonal with the exception of the work desk against the wall. Sitting in the corner was a single picture frame, small and unimposing. In it was a picture of Mokuba in his yellow vest and long striped shirt, standing at the entrance of Kaibaland making twin victory signs with his hands. It must’ve been taken after Battle City when Kaibaland was rebuilt from a small local amusement park to a Duel Monsters fantasyland of international fame.

Atem smiled and sat himself in Kaiba’s chair. So this was what Kaiba considered most important. His heart was so well guarded; he’d not let such obvious signs of affection be seen. But a small picture at his personal work desk could easily be overlooked. He twirled once in Kaiba’s chair, a little giddy at the prospect of being allowed to invade such a personal space. He was in the home of the most powerful man in Japan, in one of the two chairs in which he did the work that could change the face of the world on a whim, spinning like a child till he grew dizzy. He stopped himself, digging his feet into the carpet. He wondered if Kaiba ever spun in his chair and the thought made him laugh.

In his two hands he held their decks. He placed his on Kaiba’s desk and began to shuffle through Kaiba’s cards, reminiscing. He’d missed seeing these cards; they were almost friends in their own right. Seeing their familiar faces printed on the surface was like seeing an acquaintance across the room at a grocery store. It was odd, but pleasant in some cases. There were no strangers in this deck.

His thumb slipped over the first dragon and he paused. Kaiba’s most iconic cards. He picked them out of the deck and held them before himself, looking in wonder. Here he was, holding Kaiba’s most precious possessions. Though Kaiba did not remember him, he trusted him with his entire deck, these three cards included. How he wished he could do something to spark that memory. It Kaiba had their full history, things might be very different, for better or for worse. He hoped for the better.

He felt a shiver and saw the eyes of Kisara watching him, a look of pride inside them. Perhaps he might call upon her later with Kaiba’s permission, if the bond she shared with her cards was the same as Mahad and the Dark Magician. It might only be his imagination, but he was sure the eyes were hers. She was watching over Kaiba every step of the way. Such was her bond with Seto, she cared for him in every life.

In the afterlife, they’d become quite close, Atem recalled. From friendship forged in adversity to timid love, he’d seen the pair of them grow. At one time, she had been queen of Egypt, reigning at Seto’s side as he took on the role of pharaoh in his absence. He was sure they’d resumed the positions now once more. He had nothing to worry for with Seto’s calculating mind and Kisara’s sense of justice. And Kisara kept Seto’s heart kind. It had been a long time since Seto had considered torturing a criminal for amusement, a thought that made Seto shudder to remember today. They’d all been through a great number of changes.

In truth, Atem did not want a duel. He enjoyed the thrill of the fight and the glow of victory, but he’d had years of fighting already. In his new life in Egypt, games were not so common, and what games he did play were vastly different. A duel would certainly be fun, even now, and he always rose to the competition, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Nothing would truly satisfy him until he’d found a way to recover his friends’ memories.

But there might be a way.

Atem riffled through his pocket and produced the three Egyptian god cards. He looked between them and the three dragons. He recalled a duel he and Kaiba once fought; a spectacular duel in the air above Domino, the fate of the world in the balance. He took Obelisk from his hand and began to lay Kaiba’s cards out on the desktop, thinking hard as he tried to recall the duel exactly.

He rearranged Kaiba’s deck to the best of his ability. It had been so long ago. It was difficult to recall the various turns and figure out which first five cards he had drawn. It was a backwards process, trying to work through a duel to the start. It was easier to know what cards had been drawn and immediately played than what had been sitting in his hand, unused as the turns passed. But he was sure he remembered the most important moments.

He carefully returned the cards to the deck, being sure to keep them in order. He tucked the deck into his pocket, dashing back to his room and locating the box of things from Pegasus. From within he found a large yellow envelope and spilled its contents on the floor: copies of every card recorded in Yugi’s deck before the ceremonial duel. Atem laid his own deck out before him, sorting out the new, trading them in with the old. His new deck was peppered with cards from booster packs Pegasus kindly supplied to strengthen his strategies, but he was not looking for strength now. What he needed now was a memory.

His deck prepared, Atem picked up his duel disk and returned to Kaiba’s bedroom. He sat on the floor, back leaned comfortably against the side of Kaiba’s bed. It was a simple plan, but it might work. Often complex problems had simple solutions. Not that he expected this little duel to bring back all of Kaiba’s memories in a great big rush, but a little spark of recognition would be enough to get him through. He placed the two decks before him, ready.

As if summoned, Kaiba appeared in the doorway, carrying two glasses of water. He handed one to Atem and sat across the way, taking a long drink. He gave a satisfied sigh and set his glass aside, looking much more at ease with himself than before. He saw Atem set his own glass off to the side impatiently.

Atem tapped the top card of his deck, a fire in his eyes.

“I thought we could duel out in the yard where the holograms have room,” Atem said, reaching for his duel disk. “There’s not much room inside to project them at full size. I know how much y—”

“We’ll duel here without the disks,” Kaiba interrupted.

It was then Atem noticed his arm was bare.

Atem set his duel disk down, having barely picked it up. “Here?” he repeated. “Without projections and life point counters? Your bells and whistles?”

“The floor is comfortable enough for me. Unless his majesty finds it beneath him,” Kaiba added with a grin.

Atem smiled, unperturbed by his ribbing. “The floor suits me just fine, Kaiba.” He picked up Kaiba’s deck, passing it to him carefully. “I’ve already shuffled the cards,” he said.

“So eager to begin, were you?” Kaiba teased. “Have you really gone so long without a proper challenge?”

“I hope to challenge you in many ways in this duel.”

Kaiba looked at him. He drew his first five cards.

Atem did not bother looking as he drew his first hand. He did not need to. Instead, he kept his eyes on Kaiba, willing him to watch.

“I’ll begin this duel myself and summon my first card,” he announced. He found the Queen’s Knight in his hand and placed it on the carpet before him. “I summon my Queen’s Knight to the field in defense mode. In addition, I place one card face down and end my turn.”

The first turn of the duel and he felt a cold sweat already breaking out against his back. He had not expected Kaiba to call for a game inside. Inwardly, he was fretting, doubting the strength of his plan. Without the projections, simply drawing the right cards might not be enough. Such a simple game might not have the same impact as their arena duel. Before they had stood across one another in a projected coliseum before the illusion of thousands of people cheering Kaiba’s name, the atmosphere cool and lively around them, miles upon miles in the air atop the Battle City tower. The wisp of a breeze from the window in the silent room of the second storey did not compare.

Atem fidgeted with his cards, watching Kaiba observe his own hand with careful consideration. He arranged his cards needlessly—he already knew which cards he had to play in this duel. All he could do was wait and see whether Kaiba would follow the script.

Kaiba looked at the five cards in his hand. It was a decent hand which gave him a number of opportunities in the coming turns. X Head Cannon, Spell Sanctuary, Lullaby of Obedience, Power Balance, and Soul Exchange. He could easily play his X Head Cannon and take out Atem’s Queen’s Knight from the start, with a difference of three hundred attack points between them. He knew from experience that it was a good idea to take whatever edge he could get in a duel, even one so seemingly insignificant as three hundred life points. Besides, it was a halfway decent card. Removing it from play early might prevent Atem from using it as a shield or a sacrifice at a later stage.

But there was the face down card to consider. He had to wonder if Atem was the type to set a trap card so early in the game. He’d skimmed many duelling clips while searching through the files on his computer, but he’d been less interested in studying Atem’s duelling techniques than in spotting the physical tell-tale differences between him and Yugi. He ought to have been better prepared. He was at a disadvantage from the start, he realized, even as he’d joked about it before. It was true what he said: Atem already knew the contents of his deck. Kaiba did not. Atem had duelled him countless times before, but Kaiba could not remember a single one of their encounters. So he was easily plagued by his own theories, trying to assign meaning to the single face down card before them.

He closed his eyes a moment and reminded himself there was nothing at stake here. It was a private duel in his own home. Win or lose, his reputation was the same. There was nobody watching or judging the fight. And a duel was hardly decided on the first turn. Trap card or spell card, it didn’t matter. It was only a game. He smiled.

“You look so serious,” he said, startling Atem.

Atem looked him in the eye and nodded. “You would never accept anything less than my best. It would not do to disappoint you now.”

There was that fire again, so early in the game. The fire that he’d seen projected on the arena screens. He gripped his cards tighter. This felt familiar, comfortable even as it excited him. But the casual intimacy of their setting was different. _We’ve never been close enough for me to see his eyes so clearly_ , he thought. This gave him pause. How would he know? And he had certainly been this close to Atem. They’d been closer a number of times in the past few days alone. But the little voice whispered in the back of his head, telling him not to be so thick. This was the closest he’d been during a duel. And even though they’d scarcely begun, he was close enough to see the flames flickering in Atem’s passionate eyes. This duel was immeasurably important. Already there was a charge in the air, though it was not the familiar tingle of competition. This was one of anticipation. Anticipation of a known outcome.

He pinched the top edge of X Head Cannon between his fingers and stopped. He noticed Atem was staring at his deck, his fingertips resting on his own in anticipation of his next draw. It was then that he realized what he’d forgotten, being so wrapped up in his own thoughts. He’d not drawn his first card. He tapped X Head Cannon back in line with the other cards in his hand and reached for his top card. Something made his hand twitch as his fingers touched the surface. He slipped the card a fraction askew and stopped. Instead, he let the card be and reached over the near-empty field towards Atem’s side. He brought his hand down over Atem’s wrist, holding it in place.

Atem looked up, his concentration broken a second time. “Kaiba?”

Kaiba looked at Atem’s top card. He was certain. He looked into Atem’s eyes as he spoke.

“I wasn’t duelling Yugi all that time before,” he said. “I don’t think he and I had a true duel together until after you left.”

Atem blinked. Kaiba was speaking such a strange thought out of nowhere. He had not expected anything of the sort. When he spoke, his words were slow and suspicious. He did not know where this statement was going. “Yugi was a part of every duel you and I fought,” he argued.

Kaiba was not moved from his point. “I’ve duelled Yugi. It was always different.”

“How can you know? You and I haven’t even made it past our first turn; what’s there to compare? Besides, none of you remember anything from before.”

“No,” Kaiba agreed. “But I can feel it.”

Atem scoffed, caught off guard completely. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing! It was ridiculous, coming from Kaiba. He would never have imagined hearing such talk.

“You’ve never believed in feelings, in intuition or anything of the occult,” he said.

“Not in what others tell me I ought to think and feel, but I’ve always trusted myself.”

Atem felt a jolt of surprise run through him as Kaiba’s gentle fingers brushed over the back of his hand, caressing his knuckles.

“I know this fight,” Kaiba whispered. His voice was strangely quiet as he looked at Atem’s deck.

Atem shook his head. “That’s impossible. You can’t replicate a fight; the cards are always shuffled.”

Kaiba’s eyes snapped back up to meet his. “Don’t try to trick me—I know you too well even now,” he accused.

Atem swallowed.

“You didn’t shuffle your deck, nor did you truly shuffle mine. I’m sure of it … just as I’m sure of your next card.”

He slipped his fingers in beneath Atem’s hand and drew the top card from his deck, holding it up to eye level. Holding the card at arm’s length, he rightly predicted the name turned away from him.

“Alpha the Magnet Warrior,” he said. He tossed it back on the deck carelessly.

Atem nodded.

Kaiba sat back, satisfied. He looked down at his deck. He lifted his hand again and drew the card he’d been neglecting. He held it out between them, as if pointing at Atem in a gesture to say “You know.” He did not flip it.

“I’ve done some research of my own outside of Pegasus’ little presentations and I know that there are three cards tied to the millennium items: Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra. These three cards no longer exist in the memory of the general public. But I know. This card that I now hold is significant to me. I can feel it, just as I can feel the draw of my Blue Eyes White Dragons. I once held this card, didn’t I?”

Atem reached for the card, their fingers brushing. Before he could pull away, Kaiba grabbed hold of his forefinger, holding fast. He let the card fall face down onto the carpet. He didn’t even look at it.

“My body remembers what my mind cannot,” he continued. He’d long since abandoned his hand and the cards lay scattered, face-up between them. He leaned over them, moving closer to Atem, paying the cards no mind as they bent under his knee. “My heart always knows. Whether I believe in the heart of the cards or that destiny nonsense your friends love to preach, I am connected to my deck. You, my rival, have been communicating with me through each duel with your every draw. That was our language once. You’ve plotted out this entire duel, haven’t you, replaying something significant, trying to reach me. Now tell me, Atem; what is it you’re trying so desperately to make me remember?”

Before Atem could deny his accusations, before he could open his mouth to defend himself, before he could think up a lie, Kaiba closed the distance and captured his lips in a kiss.

Atem’s hand wavered and his cards spilled onto the floor. He pulled away before he could get caught up in the sensation, but Kaiba chased him, putting a hand behind his head to pull him in. Atem’s back pressed into the side of the bed. Kaiba’s arms blocked him on either side. There was no forward retreat. Any forward movement would only bring them closer together.

“I have always wanted you,” Kaiba whispered, giving him another passionate kiss. “Had I been allowed my memories, I would have continued to go on wanting you in your absence.”

Atem’s eyes fluttered and he struggled to keep them open. This wasn’t right or fair. How could Kaiba think he wanted this? When he remembered all their duels, all the blows to pride that Kaiba had suffered at his hands, their muted animosity might grow into something far more unbearable. The thought made a lump of anxiety rise in his throat. His chest felt tight and something shook deep within. But Kaiba was kissing him. Whatever happened next, this much was beyond his control. This much he could keep.

Hot tears rolled down Atem’s cheeks and he reached his hands up and wrapped them around Kaiba’s shoulders. He pushed up against Kaiba for all he was worth and held tight. Kaiba’s hands traced up his sides, gripping him closer. He leaned down on his side, pulling Atem with him until he was laying on his chest. Kaiba bent his head forward, kissing Atem’s chin, the line of his jaw, then he stopped, his lips feeling something warm and wet. He tasted salt.

Kaiba opened his eyes and looked at Atem. He brought a gentle hand up to his eye, wiping away another hot tear. His expression softened to one of concern and he sat them upright again. “You’re crying,” he said, petting the side of his cheeks.

Atem shook his head and wiped at his eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”

Kaiba pulled him around onto his lap and rested their cheeks together. He closed his eyes. “Hey, it’s okay,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I was being impulsive.”

The warmth of Kaiba against his back was steadying, but it was another guilty reminder that this affection was unearned. Still, he clung to Kaiba’s arms, allowed himself to be comforted. Kaiba rocked them slowly, stroking Atem’s hair as he did. He made soothing shushing noises to calm him as one might calm a frightened child and tucked his head beneath his chin.

“Talk to me,” Kaiba said.

Atem allowed himself a silent minute to collect his thoughts. His ear now pressed to Kaiba’s chest, he heard his heart beat faster—an anxious sound. He opened his eyes and saw Kaiba’s hands were trembling. He was afraid. Even as he comforted Atem, he was afraid he’d done wrong.

Atem took his hand and held it to his chest. “You already know what I’m afraid of. You’re making an uninformed decision.”

“Bullshit. But go on.”

Atem choked out a laugh. “I’m afraid to accept this. I can’t help but think you’ll hate me for it once you remember our history. I don’t want you to be disgusted by me and I don’t want you to reject me again.”

Kaiba pulled them apart to look Atem in the eye. “Again?” he asked.

“It’s a different rejection now, but you once rejected the very idea that I existed. That hurt, even as I understood your reasons for it, and that made it bearable. But to reject me for this … I’d rather die a third time.”

Kaiba frowned, his grip tightening on Atem’s shoulders ever so slightly. “What makes you so sure I’ll pull a one-eighty on you?”

“Probably paranoia,” Atem dead-panned.

Kaiba snorted.

“I don’t want you to consider this as a blank slate. I want you to chose this, all things considered. No matter how much I want to believe you know what you want right now, or how much I want to accept this.”

Kaiba opened his mouth, but he didn’t speak. He closed it again and sighed. “I understand,” he said. He gave Atem’s cheek one more kiss before pulling them both to their feet. “Come on then. We’d better hurry up and find a way to restore our memories.”

“What do you mean?”

Kaiba chuckled. “I’m not a patient man, Atem. The night after we met with Pegasus, I was already putting a plan in motion. Come, I’ll show you.”

Kaiba walked over to his desk and lifted the screen of his laptop open. As soon as it powered on, he began opening a number of folders and their documents. Work orders and permits flashed over the screen one by one, accompanied by a number of schematic plans and government forms. Then, brought to the very front of the mess of technical papers, there was a single picture. A picture of the millennium puzzle.

“What is all this?”

Kaiba smiled, leaning back in his chair. “I’ve ordered for an excavation of the ancient tomb in order to recover the millennium items,” he replied.

“The millennium items? But why?”

“It’s simple. If all this ancient Egyptian magic tripe is real, then these items are the key. The puzzle connected you to this world before your departure and subsequent return. If something changed when your bond with the puzzle was broken, then retrieving the puzzle might be the key to reverting that change.”

Atem’s face lit up with a brilliant smile. “That’s it! Mahad said that there was a spell on the items that had sealed your memories. My priests have had difficulty in deciphering the magic’s specifics. If we had access to the items in both realms, we might be able to uncover a way to reverse the spell.”

Kaiba’s face was practically glowing with pride. “I believe there might be another way to fix things even if the spell can’t be lifted by your magical priests. I say we take the original approach.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do what Yugi did,” he declared. “He made a wish on the puzzle once he’d completed it and it was granted. If we break apart the puzzle and put it back together, is it not possible to have a new wish granted?”

“But I’m no longer confined within the puzzle. I’m not sure if the magic within it remains.”

“It’s still worth a try. And maybe breaking the puzzle will break whatever spell’s been put on it. Either way, we get the puzzle. We’ve got nothing more to lose in trying.”

Atem relented with a grin. “I suppose you’re right,” he said.

“As usual. It pays to take the logical approach, even when dealing with something as illogical as magic.”

“And as usual, your skepticism never fails to impress.”

Kaiba chuckled as he powered down his computer. He stood and returned to their scattered cards, collecting them back into their decks once more. He handed one card face down to Atem. “Here. This belongs to you,” he said. “It has no place in my deck.”

“No, Kaiba. You keep it,” Atem insisted.

Kaiba gave him a hard look, forcing the card onto his deck. “Obelisk is yours, pharaoh. Take him. And I better not catch you sneaking cards into my deck again or I’ll confiscate your duel disk for tampering with your opponent's property.”

“Very well. But the next time we duel, don’t complain about unfair advantages when I have three god cards on the field.”

“Go put your stuff away already and get changed. Since you’re up and about, Mokuba will want us to come watch him duel. You don’t want to miss another day of the tournament now, do you?”

“I got it,” Atem said. He shoved his deck into his duel disk and walked toward the door.

“Be ready in ten!” Kaiba called.

“I _got_ it,” Atem repeated. He held up his left hand, giving Kaiba a thumbs-up as he glanced back one more time. The door swung shut behind him a moment later.

Kaiba was frozen on the spot and his deck spilled to the floor, cards landing all around. He ran to the door and flung it back open, his hand gripping the door frame until it ached. “Wait!” he shouted.

Atem’s head popped back out from the room down the hall. “What is it?” he asked. Confusion and worry wrinkled his brow.

Kaiba was breathing heavily, a thin, cold sweat breaking his forehead. He saw Atem looking back at him, still very much there. Kaiba straightened himself again, swiping a cool hand through his bangs. “I just wanted to remind you to take the god cards out of your deck before you decided to do any duelling. If you played an unknown card in the tournament, it’d be a public scandal.”

Atem nodded. “Thank you, Kaiba. I’ll be sure to leave them here when we go.” And he was gone again.

Kaiba closed his door with a quiet click and braced himself against it. He could feel his body trembling. For just a moment, he’d seen something strange. When Atem turned, he’d seen the image of a purple cloak billowing behind him. The hall had been invisible beyond the door, shrouded in a blinding white light.

He approached his bookshelf. There were a great many books lining its shelves: text books, encyclopedias, binders of research documents and the like. He searched until his hand stroked the spine of one book in particular. Kaiba retrieved the family album down from the top shelf. He’d fought his aunt and uncle for possession of it after his reformation of KaibaCorp, in the pause just before Battle City, when things finally began to settle. It contained pictures of himself and Mokuba side by side with their parents, before their mother got sick and their father got in the accident. Over the years, Mokuba had filled it with pictures of the two of them, even adding Noah to the collection to honor his memory. Kaiba flipped the pages over to the most recent pages. Mokuba had expanded their collection to contain pictures of his friends. Yugi helped supply pictures of himself and the others. Even Roland got a page in their album. But on the last page was one picture which Mokuba had not entered.

Atem was smiling at him, eyes lifted above the security camera on his coat. It was footage he’d printed himself from their time in Egypt. When he opened to the page, something fell to the floor with a metallic ding.

Kaiba closed the album and returned it to its place on the shelf before kneeling down to collect the fallen object. It was a plain metal chain with a tag on the end. The tag had hieroglyphics on one side, and a name printed on the other. He’d remembered something small just now, watching Atem turn his back. The night Atem disappeared from their world, he’d added his picture to the album. To ensure he would not forget, he’d etched his name in the tag. Ironic that for all he’d done to preserve the memory, he’d forgotten completely.

Kaiba slipped the chain over his head and tucked the tag beneath his shirt carefully. Whatever magical nonsense was coming just ahead, he’d not forget again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long everyone! I put it off because I didn't want to have to go back and watch four episodes, waiting for Kaiba to draw Obelisk so I could recreate the duel. Turns out, he drew it on the FIRST DAMN TURN. So yeah. Kiiiiiiinda feel like I wasted a lot of time putting this off for nothing.
> 
> Thanks to my new beta-reader, Fireboltdream for the timely edits! Give them a hand, folks!
> 
> Anyway, time for the usual sign-off:  
> Go read Marshmallons and suffer with me!
> 
>  
> 
> Ps, the latest addition to the tags out to give you an idea of what's coming in the next chapter. And yes, it does involve Mokuba. But Mokuba's not the only one involved.
> 
> Find out about my other work and how to support me:
> 
> https://dorkmagicianem.tumblr.com/about


	9. Second Move

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure who to root for between the two of you.”

Mokuba squinted past Kaiba at Atem, munching the last of his empty ice cream cone a little harder than necessary. “What do you mean you didn’t know who to root for? I’m the obvious choice no matter  _ who _ I’m duelling.”

Atem looked away, a nervous smile on his face. “Well, Rebecca is a friend of mine too—or Yugi’s, I guess. A friend by proxy at least. It wouldn’t be fair to pick favorites.”

It was just before duel curfew and the three of them were walking around downtown Domino, leaving the inner city duel districts. It had been a tough day of duelling for Mokuba; many of Kaiba’s old fans had challenged him throughout the day to duel, seizing the rare opportunity to challenge a Kaiba brother. One particular duellist stood out from the rest.

Rebecca Hawkins hadn’t initially been part of the tournament, though she’d made the invitation list for the celebrity roster after her performance in the KC Grand Prix put her on the map. She’d been much too busy helping her grandfather organize a new exhibit at the Smithsonian in DC to arrive on the eighth day. However, she’d found the time to drop by on the ninth day of the tournament to scope out the new duelling scene. Despite not having been there for her introduction, her invitation package allowed her to enter without hassle. She presented her duel disk with four pink celebrity star chips and took up her district assignment—taking the street adjacent to Mokuba’s assignment. And since there was no rule against celebrity duellists battling one another, they decided to have a little competition of their own to see who was the best between them.

To celebrate his first major win, Mokuba made Kaiba treat him and Atem. Mokuba steered them towards an ice cream vendor. The choices gave Atem pause. He’d never gotten to choose his own flavor before. In the end, Mokuba ordered strawberry and Atem, curious, chose pistachio.

“Pistachio?” Mokuba asked, grimacing. “Are you sure?”

“Let him be,” Kaiba replied, sipping from a cup.

Kaiba had already ordered a cup of coffee for himself an hour before and had been slowly nursing it all the while. He’d had a long day, even with his nap, and he felt that he’d never quite woken up from it. He’d even been nodding during the duel, despite how much he’d wanted to stay awake to watch his little brother’s victory. Mokuba suggested putting a scoop of chocolate ice cream in his cup, but Kaiba had declined; he didn’t need another treat.

“My ears are going to fall off at this rate,” Kaiba grumbled. “You two have been talking about that duel non-stop since it ended.”

Mokuba checked the time on his phone. “It didn’t end that long ago. A half-hour at most. And anyway, you used to mumble to yourself for hours after losing to Yugi, trying to come up with different strategies.”

Atem and Kaiba stopped walking and looked at Mokuba together.

“What?”

Kaiba gripped his cup of coffee a little too tightly. “How can you just casually remember those kinds of things? I can’t remember anything and yet you recognized Atem when you saw him, and now you remember things about our duels that I don’t: things that directly  _ involve _ me.”

Mokuba frowned and looked at the ground ahead. He hummed. “I don’t know. It just kinda came to me when we were talking. Like when someone mentions a quote from an old movie and the plot comes rushing back to you.”

“Then I should have plenty more memories by now, considering.” Kaiba looked meaningfully at Atem. “I’ve spent more time with Atem than anyone else since his return. I’ve seen all the security and duel footage. If that isn’t enough, what else is there? How can it be that a snide remark about chatter is enough to bring a memory back to you, but all this does nothing for me?”

“Well, have you remembered anything at all?” Mokuba asked.

Atem leaned in closer.

Kaiba ran a hand under his collar. His finger slipped against the cool metal of a slim silver chain. “Nothing substantial,” he said. He thought a little more. “Mostly physical reactions or vaguely familiar feelings. I feel physically comfortable beside him. We have an easy time talking. He wasn’t … annoying when we had our reunion. Or threatening. It didn’t feel like I was talking to someone new.”

“How flattering,” Atem replied.

Kaiba tossed his coffee in a trash can and yawned. “Speaking of flattering, I’m sick to death of that uniform. You might have at least borrowed something from the house,” he complained.

Atem looked at his clothes and shrugged.

“We’re burning those things as soon as we get you in something new. Yugi and the others have already graduated; it just looks childish on you.”

“Forgive me if Yugi couldn’t be bothered to wear regular clothes to Egypt like the others. It can’t be helped; this is what he wore to the ceremonial duel and these were my clothes before I entered the afterlife. It was all I had when I returned. I think we’ve exhausted this point. Your fixation on my fashion is tiring.”

“All I’m saying is you need to start dressing like a regular human being and less like a cartoon character. And besides, you ought to do more to distinguish yourself from Yugi if you’re going to be a sponsored duellist. And I saw the looks Pegasus was giving you during the second stage announcements. If glaring daggers could actually cut, he’d have torn that jacket to shreds. He expects a little more style from the people representing his company.”

Atem picked at his uniform. “The cloak hid much of my clothing. Not that I could wear that regularly. Right now it’s just sitting in the box along with all my other things.”

“You still haven’t unpacked?” Mokuba cut in.

“No. After everyone left, your brother and I had a duel. We stopped midway to come out and watch your duels instead.”

“You did what?” Mokuba looked suspiciously at Kaiba. “You never stop in the middle of a duel. What, did the house catch fire?”

Kaiba grunted. “Atem cheated and I caught him in the act. So we dropped it.”

“No way. Cheated? Him?”

Atem cleared his throat. “Not to win. I was trying to replicate a duel to spark his memory. It worked, if only a little. He called my bluff.”

“Smart move. If there’s anything that he’d remember, it’d be a duel,” Mokuba said.

“You’re both getting off topic. Before the next round of duelling tomorrow, we’re getting you a new wardrobe. Now look: the plaza has plenty of outlet stores. We’ll hit up a couple, get you a few outfits, grab dinner, and call it a night.”

“I want to eat at the food court in the mall!” Mokuba announced. “It’s only a few blocks away to the main shopping center and there are better stores inside. Besides, the plaza will be too crowded with duellists trying to finish their last rounds before curfew. There’s barely any room to duel in the mall; the holograms are too big. The only people inside will be non-duellists, which means less foot traffic.”

“Can I bring my ice cream inside?” Atem asked. He knew certain establishments frowned upon outside food. Joey had once been kicked out of a department store for bringing a burger inside with him.

“I’d eat it quickly. You can have it in the main building, but they wouldn’t like you taking it into the stores.”

“Here’s an easy solution,” Kaiba said. He picked the ice cream out of Atem’s hand and gave the bottom of the cone a large bite.

Atem scrambled to retrieve his cone, but Kaiba held him at arm’s length as he sucked the half-melted ice cream out the bottom. “Give it back!” Atem ordered, reaching up uselessly. But Kaiba drained the remains from the cone and handed it back empty with a cheeky grin.

“If you wanted ice cream, you should have gotten your own cone. That was my first time getting to choose my own flavor and I wanted to finish it myself.”

“I bought it. Buyer’s Tax,” Kaiba replied.

“Buyer’s Tax is a lick at best—you don’t get half the cone,” Mokuba argued. He looked sympathetically at Atem. “He used to do that same thing to me when we were little. It was something our dad did.”

Kaiba paused at looked at Mokuba in surprise. “You remember that? You were only three when he died.”

“I still remember a few things, mostly the stuff you picked up. I remember the Dad Tax. I remember he wore a blue sweater. And he used to peel oranges for me. Little things.”

“Maybe Mokuba just has a better memory than the rest of us,” Atem joked.

“Well, I  _ am _ in charge of Seto’s calendar. The company would fall apart without me to keep everything on track.”

“Oh, shut up,” Kaiba grumbled, invoking a self-satisfied snicker from Mokuba.

“Or what?” Mokuba retorted, grinning ear-to-ear. “You’ll  _ ground _ me?”

“Worse. I’ll slime your smug little face with pistachio.”

Kaiba reached a sticky hand forward and waggled his fingers in his little brother’s face threateningly. Mokuba ducked and hurried several yards ahead, out of his reach. Kaiba smiled wickedly.

“If I knew half of my ice cream was going to end up on your fingers,” Atem said, “I would have ordered a second scoop. Maybe then I would’ve gotten a full scoop to myself.”

Kaiba leaned over and waved his hand in his face. “Well here’s your scoop if you want the rest so bad.”

Atem’s face turned red and he swatted Kaiba’s hand away quickly. “None of that! You know how I feel about … all of this.”

Kaiba’s smile faltered momentarily. But he nodded, withdrawing his hand. He wiped it clean with a napkin from his pocket and tossed it at the next bin. “I know. But I promise you, blank-slate or not, I’m still me. I know what I felt before.”“How could you?” Atem looked up at him apprehensively.

Kaiba fingered the hidden chain once more. He considered taking it out, showing Atem. Surely the cartouche would speak volumes. But he decided against it. Being a generally un-sentimental man, he doubted Atem would believe he’d really made it so long ago.

“I left myself hints,” was all he said.

Farther up the walk, Mokuba turned and waved before a pair of glass doors. “Come on, you guys!” he called. “The mall is a tomb! We’re gonna get great service.”

Atem chucked. He was no stranger to tombs.

 

Inside, Kaiba guided them to an acceptable department store. Inside, a bored cashier sat behind the counter, her chin propped up on one hand, staring at a TV monitor on the wall. There were two other monitors on either side that displayed clothing advertisements in sync, but both had been muted. Lively sounds played from the speaker of the middle monitor as a reporter gave commentary on a duel in progress.

“Not a fifteen minutes left in the second day of stage two, and neither duellist has made headway in this game. The clock is ticking down the seconds as the curfew looms closer. According to the competition rules, all duels in progress will be disbanded at exactly five o’clock. To comply with the city’s noise pollution agreement, any duel disk set with a Duel District star chip will automatically be shut down until the duellist has left the tournament grounds. In preparation for the likelihood of duels cut short by the curfew, KaibaCorp’s latest downloadable upgrade was made available free to all duellists registered in the competition. For those who stop mid-battle, have no fear! As we all know, participant’s decks are scanned and catalogued on the Duel Links database when they first enter the competition and their configuration is re-scanned at the start of every duel through the automatic shuffling feature. As soon as the  curfew hits, the card order is scanned and saved in the deck, field, and graveyard, so the duels can be replicated and picked up exactly where they left off without the need for locking the decks in the disk.”

Kaiba nodded his head, a small smile played at the corner of his lips. “I designed that feature a week before the tournament started,” he said. “It can be difficult to start a match over from the beginning if you’re in the lead. Your opponent might pull ahead with a good shuffle.”

Mokuba shrugged. “Of course, it gives both opponents time to think through their current hand, though there’s only so much strategizing you can do with a single hand of cards.”

“But can’t a duellist look through their deck after they leave and see the order of the cards?” Atem asked. “They could prepare a whole duel, even if they can’t change the order.”

The two brothers looked at each other and laughed.

“Give us more credit, Yami!” Mokuba said.

Kaiba tossed his head confidently, shifting his bangs. “We thought of that, of course. To prevent cheating, the deck is shuffled after the curfew scan. Once the two duellists come together again, the disk links to the data cloud and returns the cards to their original order. You could have a hundred duels in-between and still pick up where the duel left off.”

Mokuba nudged Atem triumphantly. “Isn’t that cool?” he asked. He needed no reply.

“Amazing!” Atem cried.

The cashier’s head popped up as she finally registered the three other people in the room. Quick as a flick, she switched the monitor back to the fashion display and sat upright behind the counter, alert and very pink in the face.

“What happened?” Mokuba asked. “You didn’t have to turn it off.”

“I’m so sorry,” the woman said, bowing her head. She spoke quickly and apologetically “I wasn’t expecting any customers before the curfew. If you need any assistance, I’d be ha—”

“It’s fine,” Kaiba interrupted. “You can turn it back on if you like; we don’t need any help.”

Too caught up in being caught slacking, she hadn’t taken particular notice of her customers. Now, she paled. “M—Mr. Kaiba!” She gasped. She bowed lower.

Mokuba strode up to the counter and took the remote, patting the poor woman’s shoulder as he flipped the channel back to the duel coverage. “Go on, relax! They’re just doing a bit of shopping. Meanwhile, I’ve got nothing better to do. Want to watch the ranking report with me?”

The woman hesitated as Mokuba flopped down on counter. Then, shyly, she sat back on her stool and whispered, “Please don’t tell my supervisor.”

Mokuba snorted.

Kaiba tilted his head toward the nearest rack of shirts. “Shall we?”

Atem rounded the rack in no time.

At first, Atem was conservative with his choices. He chose a plain white button-up shirt, indistinguishable from the one he already wore. Kaiba rejected it immediately.

“No more white,” he argued. “Nothing that resembles that uniform.”

Atem looked at him incredulously. “No white shirts ever?”

“Ask me again in a year.”

Kaiba walked to another rack and pulled down a purple shirt instead. He tossed it at Atem. “Try something more like this. You’re a pharaoh, aren’t you? Play it up. Pegasus already gave you a persona for the public, so use it. Purple’s a royal color.”

“Egyptian pharaohs don’t wear slim-fitted button-up shirts.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Get with the times.”

He walked to another display and unfolded a new shirt. “You can’t fill a closet with only buttoned shirts—that’s boring. What do you think of this?”

Atem regarded the long-sleeved shirt Kaiba held. It had thin stripes running horizontally in different colors against a dark blue base. It reminded him of one of Mokuba’s old shirts, but less plain. He draped it over his arm alongside the purple shirt.

That was how it went. Kaiba would chose a new garment for him and he’d add it to the collection. As he grew more comfortable, he added a few items of his own, vetoed a choice here and there, and soon, he was having fun. He piled Kaiba’s arms with his load to go looking some more. He’d just picked up a sort of tunic shirt when a tag caught his eye. He lifted it up to examine the price and the bubble of joy burst. He folded the shirt quickly and put it back. He still hadn’t checked to see the amount Pegasus had loaded on his card. In fact, he still hadn’t learned  _ how _ to check his card.

He found Kaiba looking over a number of fall coats, the clothes piled neatly on a bench beside him. Atem loaded his arms.

“Going to try them on now?” Kaiba asked.

“No. Putting them back.”

Kaiba looked up. “Why?”

“Kaiba, did you  _ see _ the tags on some of these? A shirt should  _ not _ cost 5000 yen! Yugi never spends more than 2000 on a shirt, and usually less. He’s a sale shopper.”

“This is a department store—of course it’ll cost more than a general store shirt. And don’t worry about it. Now here, go try these on.”

“Kaiba, I’m not b—”

Kaiba turned him around and pushed him gently toward the dressing rooms. “It was my idea; I’ll cover you. Anything if it gets you out of that uniform. Now change and come out so I can see.”

Atem stumbled into a room as the door clicked shut behind him. He looked back and the closed door as Kaiba’s footsteps disappeared. He sighed. Kaiba’s generosity was stubborn at times and almost always fuelled by personal interest. He looked at the clothes in his arms. As he rubbed the fabric of a soft shirt between his fingers, he tried not to look at the security tag. Expensive things had security tags.

He folded his uniform carefully and set it on the provided bench. His shoes he tucked underneath. He jumped into a stiff new pair of black pants and slipped the striped shirt over his head. It was really more of a sweater than a shirt. It was comfortably snug. He fixed his hair and turned to face the mirror. He looked … modern. And comfortable. It certainly did nothing for the “Fighting Pharaoh” image Pegasus had sparked, but it looked nice. It was the sort of thing he’d wear around town to visit a park.

He stepped out of the dressing room, hands in his pockets. Kaiba was sitting on a white bench, staring at the door. When Atem emerged, his eyes brightened with interest.

“Looks good,” he said.

“I think so. It’s soft too.”

Kaiba stood and walked closer. He smoothed down Atem’s shoulders, feeling the fabric. “It is,” he confirmed. “Fits well, too. But with a casual look like this, you should tuck in the front like so.”

Before Atem could move, Kaiba tucked in his shirt for him. His hands lingered on his hips. He smirked.

“It adds visual interest,” Kaiba whispered, dangerously close to his ear.

Atem cleared his throat.

Kaiba chuckled. As he returned to the bench, he waved a hand back. “Keep the pants and try the black and gold shirt next. Looks like you might have trouble getting them off anyway.”

Atem retreated back into the changing room and clicked the door shut, locking it. His heart was thumping in his ears. Damn him! He was an incorrigible flirt. Though he couldn’t say his courage was unfounded. Even so, he didn’t want to encourage this until they knew more about the curse on the puzzle. To spite him, Atem emerged next in the purple shirt. He made a point of tucking it in himself. Front and back.

“No,” was Kaiba’s immediate response. He reached out and tugged the ends of the shirt out again, smoothing them down his sides. “You can’t wear this tucked without a belt.”

“You’re so hard to please,” Atem grumbled.

“Oh, not really. I’m very easy to please as it happens.”

Kaiba unbuttoned Atem’s sleeves. He started rolling them back one at a time, keeping Atem’s eyes.

Atem swallowed, his throat dry. He didn’t want to encourage this. Really, he didn’t. But Kaiba made it very clear he was fighting a losing battle.

Kaiba rolled the sleeves neatly past his elbows. On the second arm, he took his time. His movements were deliberate, exaggerated. As before, he took Atem’s wrist and turned it, pulling it closer. His kissed the inside of his wrist, just where the bandage ended.

Atem shivered.

“I propose a compromise,” Kaiba said. He continued to kiss up Atem’s arm until he reached the elbow, stopped by the sleeve. “You’re worried I’ll hate you or reject you with my memory intact once more—an irrational fear, but that’s your right, given my track record with people. But hear me out.”

He snaked a hand up Atem’s throat, resting it below his ear. Atem leaned his head to the side, embracing the touch. Kaiba took the opportunity to kiss Atem’s neck. Atem took a shuddering breath. As his knees buckled beneath him, Kaiba stumbled the both of them into the booth. They crashed against the mirror inside. Kaiba’s free hand wrapped around the small of Atem’s back, pulling him closer. They breathed hard against one another. Kaiba kissed along Atem’s jaw. Atem’s hands wandered to Kaiba’s hips and he tugged him forward against himself. Kaiba rubbed against him, making him gasp. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue in Atem’s open mouth.

Kaiba moaned. Atem, spurred on by the sound, leaned his head up. He ran his own tongue under Kaiba’s and felt him shiver against him. Suddenly, Atem was supporting Kaiba’s weight, Kaiba’s legs giving out under him. He leaned Kaiba down against the bench, straddling his waist. He sat up to breathe a moment, but Kaiba tugged his arms greedily. He managed to sneak one more kiss before Atem sat up again.

Atem panted. “So what … was your … compromise?”

Kaiba rested his hands on the side of Atem’s thighs as he caught his breath. “I thought I’d think of one before you could ask. Turns out, I’m not a multitasker.”

“You’re making this whole thing impossible,” Atem growled. He lifted himself up off the bench.

Kaiba pulled him back down. “Wait, no, I’ve got one, I’ve got it. We’ll duel for it.”

“For what?”

“If I win, you forget about what happens next. No more talk about these what-ifs. I don’t want to wait to have you any longer, not when you’re finally here. But if you win, I won’t so much as shake your hand until this is all over.”

“That’s a terrible deal; you always lose.”

Kaiba looked up at him desperately, his hair an irresistible mess, his pale cheeks flushed. “Then that’s all the more reason to take it. Besides, what Mokuba said might be right. If we have a duel—a  _ real  _ duel—it might bring back a piece of my memory. Whether I win the duel or regain my memory, I win. And so do you.”

Kaiba stuck out his hand, pinky raised.

“Come on. Seal the deal.”

It was too much to deny him looking the way he did. Atem hooked their pinkies together and shook. “Fine then. It’s a deal.”

“And you have to sleep in my bed,” Kaiba added, keeping his grip until he finished speaking. He released Atem’s pinky finger, smiling evilly.

“You cheat!” Atem protested.

“No changing it now, unless you want to cut off your pinky.” Kaiba teased. “Finish trying everything on so we can hurry up and get dinner. I think we ought to turn i early tonight.”

“This sweater is pretty thick. I wonder if it’ll be easier to suffocate you with than my jacket.”

“So, bed by seven?”


	10. Fatal Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys now, this chapter is where the tag "Gratuitous Card Games" comes into play. You're in it for the long haul.

Atem changed into his regular clothes and re-emerged from the dressing room. Kaiba took one look at him and lifted up one of the shirts they’d picked. “You can wear it out of the store, you know.”

“I’d rather wash everything first,” Atem replied. He fussed with the end of one sleeve, trying to adjust comfortably.

Kaiba reached out and fixed the buttons for him. He frowned at the bandages. “Are you scratching?” he asked.

“Not enough to be worried.”

“Does it hurt?”

Atem shook his head. “Come on; Mokuba’s waiting.”

Kaiba carried the new clothes to the front counter and Atem smiled to the cashier, handing her his card. Kaiba stole the card from his hand and replaced it with one of his own, true to his word. He gave Atem back his card and wouldn’t hear another word about it.

While the cashier rang up their purchases, Atem looked around the empty space behind the counter. He expected to see Mokuba’s familiar face, but there was only the cashier.

“Excuse me,” Atem said. “Did you see where our friend went?”

The cashier finished bagging his purchase and pointed at the door. “He left about five minutes ago to make a call. Apparently the cell service isn’t working inside the building.”

Kaiba fished his phone from his pocket and checked the screen. No bars.

“Think he called Roland to get us a ride to dinner?” Atem asked. “I’m starving.”

“No; he wanted to eat at the food court. If he went out to make a call, he’s probably inviting the group to meet us. I say we run while we still can and meet him at home.”

Atem laughed and pulled his arm. “Come on! Let’s find him and have dinner. I want to hear how everyone did in the tournament today.”

“I’ll take you to a nice restaurant: candles and low lighting. Steaks.”

“No bribery. Mokuba’s expecting us.”

Kaiba groaned. “They’ll want to drag us all around the mall.”

“Then I say let them. I don’t mind staying out a little longer.”

Reluctantly, Kaiba turned toward the cashier. “I’ll have someone come pick up our purchases tomorrow,” he said. “Please hold them for us.”

The cashier bowed politely and assured them everything would be well looked-after.

Kaiba shot a text to Roland to send someone. It’d send as soon as they went outside.

“Should we look outside first or should we check the food court?” Atem asked.

“The closest exit is just around the corner; it’ll be quicker. We can check the food court if we don’t see him there.”

So they checked outside. The streets were beginning to fill up with duellists going about their business, strict curfew enforced. They looked around, but Mokuba was nowhere to be seen. Kaiba checked his phone and saw that his text had sent. Cell service was working again.

“Do you think he went back to the store to check on us?” Atem asked. “Now that I think of it, he’s the kind of person who would at least leave us a note with the cashier.”

“Unless Wheeler dragged him off. I wouldn’t put it past him to go straight to the food court without us. I can’t count the number of times he’s made Mokuba ditch me.”

At that moment, Kaiba’s phone buzzed in his hand and the words Joey Wheeler lit up the screen. Kaiba huffed and answered the call.

“Did you have to drag him off, you mutt? We were in the middle of a shopping trip. Now fetch and bring him back.”

“Kaiba!” Atem scolded. He reached for the phone, but Kaiba held him at arm’s length.

“Come on—it’s how we talk. Now tell me, Wheeler, which kiosk are you a—”

“You should learn to answer the phone properly, Mr. Kaiba.”

They both froze. That was not Joey’s voice on the other end.

Kaiba’s grip on the phone turned white as he clutched it to his ear. “So Wheeler’s in this now. Who else do you have?” he hissed.

Heidi’s voice rang through the line loud and clear. “I think you can make a guess. Hack the mall security feed if you’d like to see how it happened; it’s even easier than manipulating your duel disk. Or a simple phone satellite.”

“Give them back, you snake.”

“Don’t be stupid. I want something in return. Now you’ve gone and made a mess of my plans: you’ve gotten involved in matters that don’t concern you and you’ve forced my hand. You made yourself my enemy when you took up playing bodyguard to the pharaoh. Well. You’ve put more than yourself in the line of fire. My men are ready to make an exchange. To ensure you both show up, we’ve taken a person important to either of you.  Release will be negotiated when the pharaoh is in my possession once more.”

“Over my dead body,” Kaiba grunted.

“It’ll be more than _your_ body at stake. No security. I have eyes all around the city—even among your hired hands. Look into the crowd.”

Atem and Kaiba looked up.

In the middle of the crosswalk, directly in front of them, they saw a district gate guard, holding a phone to his ear. It was the guard who’d checked them all in. He smiled and held up a green star chip. As his lips moved, Heidi’s voice came over the receiver. “Now you see me.” Then she, the guard, disappeared, becoming another face in the crowd. “Now you don’t.”

Atem rushed toward the crosswalk, but Kaiba grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Atem cried out in pain at the sudden, hard grip. In his panic, Kaiba had forgotten the burns.

Kaiba pulled him back. “Don’t go running off by yourself!” he scolded. “She could be anywhere—anyone! And she might not be alone. If I lose you in the crowd, I could lose Mokuba too!”

Atem gaped at him before Kaiba realized.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “You’re not a bargaining chip.”

Atem shook his head. “I know.”

“Look all you want, but no one can hide in this city better than Heidi, and none could seek me out but the old Seeker. Now that his brain is scrambled, I have no equal. So, do we have a deal?”

Kaiba brought the phone to his ear again. “Where are they?”

“Let the pharaoh join the crowd, then we’ll talk.”

“Forget it. I want to see them first, and I want to be sure it’s really them when I do, not some hologram. A physical exchange. I don’t make blind deals.”

There was silence on the other end.

Kaiba looked around. He turned his back on the crowd and looked at the mall entrance instead. “They’re somewhere nearby, aren’t they? You couldn’t have gotten far so quickly. There couldn’t have simply been a drive-by snatch—my people would have seen it. I would’ve been radioed.”

“Clever,” Heidi praised.

“Let me guess: you or one of your goons disguised yourselves as one of the dorks and led them off.”

“ _Very_ clever.”

Atem looked at the mall doors, watching Kaiba’s concentrated expression in the reflection. A digital ad flashed colorfully in the empty hall, advertising a new flavored tea. The flash distracted him and stole his attention. Then, he saw the flash wasn’t simply a changing ad. A face appeared on the screen. Heidi smiled back at him and beckoned.

“Kaiba!” Atem shouted. He pointed inside.

Heidi’s words came through in sync with the advertisement. “This way, boys,” she said.

The call ended as soon as Kaiba turned his head.

Together, Atem and Kaiba burst inside. As they ran, the display projected the tea ad once more, but Heidi’s face appeared further down on another digital ad. They chased her fleeing image through the mall.

“Shouldn’t we call for backup?” Atem asked.

“Not until I’ve seen that they’re really there. If she’s holding them somewhere else and we call for help, there’s no telling what she might try.”

“Do you think she has anyone else?”

Kaiba’s hand was already digging the sunglasses from his pocket. He tapped them on and picked an earpiece from his pocket, jamming it in his ear. “Pegasus!”

There was a startled bump on the other end of the line. “Kaiba! What’s the meaning o—”

“I need you to check on the others and find out where they are. Confirm their visuals with their duel disk ID signals. Check their _cell_ signals. Use any and all means to identify and confirm that they are who they are.”

“What’s this all about? Why the triple check?”

“Heidi’s manipulating her voice and appearance with KaibaCorp’s solid vision system. She might not be the only one. Her threat has expanded to include the whole group. Check on all of them. Secure their families. Get them all escorted somewhere safe. Until this is over, I want everyone on full lock-down!”

Computer keys clicked over the speaker as Pegasus set his people to work. “Where are you? I’ll send you a task force immediately.”

“No! Send no one until I give you word. I’ll give the signal when I need you.”

“Fine. In the meantime I’ll see to the others. I’m sendi—ms are on the—all for—t—”

In the midst of the static and clipped phrases, a sudden high-pitched whine sounded from the earpiece, causing the few people in the slowly-filling hall to cover their ears. Kaiba yowled and ripped out the shrieking device. He powered it off and shoved it in his pocket.

“She cut us off,” he said above the ringing in his right ear.

“So I heard,” Atem grumbled, rubbing his ears.

The next ad display stood before the escalator. Instead of Heidi’s face, it had a large arrow pointing downwards. On the screen flashed two words: play fair.

They ran down the escalator to the first sub-floor. The screens led them to the far end of the hall to another escalator. Then, back down another back-tracking hallway to an elevator. By now, they were breathing hard.

“She’s playing with us,” Atem panted. “It’s the same hall, just different floors. We could’ve just gotten in the elevator on the first floor.”

“She wants us worn down in case we put up a fight,” Kaiba said. “But a little run isn’t enough to get me tired.”

“It’s enough for me. This body is still new.”

“Then you’d better get used to it quick.”

The elevator doors opened and Kaiba walked in without hesitation.

“Hey! How do you know she won’t just drop the elevator as soon as I walk in? She wants me dead, Kaiba. I’m sure whatever happens to you has no consequences to her.”

Kaiba crossed his arms and leaned against the elevator’s back wall. “She likes games. She wanted to kill you the first time by point-administered electric shocks in a duel. The gas she planted in your room was sleeping gas so she could have you carried off. Now she’s making us run around like chickens without heads. However she intends to kill you, it won’t be as quick and easy as an elevator accident.”

Atem hesitated. “Why not just take the stairs?”

“You need a key to get to the lower levels. Unless you take the elevator. If she can get into my duel disk and mess around, she can easily bypass an elevator key, but there’s no way to hack a regular lock-and-key door.”

Atem scoffed as he entered the elevator. “She could have stolen a key or picked the lock,” he argued.

The doors closed behind them.

“You know these people never do anything so simple.”

Atem sighed.

There was a click. Next thing they knew, they were headed to the basement level.

 

The door opened onto an empty expanse. The elevator ding echoed. It was pitch black, but a trail of lights flickered to life one at a time, guiding them into the room. Boxes and crates surrounded them up against the walls, and in the center of the room, there stood an arena.

“Why would there be a duel arena in the basement of the mall?” Atem’s voice carried through the room.

“Like you’re surprised.” Kaiba stepped out, his heels clicking in the silence.

“You’re right. It’s too common on our adventures for something like this to be unusual. What I’m wondering are the specifics: penalty games? Pirated card testing? Or is it illegal gambling this time?”

“Whatever it was, I’m sure she’s had time to redesign it.”

The last of the lights flickered down on a platform made of several large shipping crates. Sitting at the top were two figures tied to metal folding chairs.

“Seto!” Mokuba called.

“And Yami! Boy, that was quick,” Joey said.

Kaiba whipped out his wallet and shook out the loose change before hurling it at Joey’s head. It hit dead center.

Joey rubbed his stinging cheek against his shoulder. “Hey, whadja do that for! I’m not so broke I need you to go around throwing money at me!”

“Watch it!” Mokuba shouted. “You nearly got me in the eye!”

Kaiba sighed with relief. “It’s really you two.”

The relief didn’t last long as a gun clicked behind his head.

A gruff voice commanded him. “Your gun, sir.”

Kaiba looked at Atem. There was a man behind him as well. Very slowly, Kaiba opened his coat and reached into his harness. As he did, he soundlessly pressed the insignia on the collar. The gun retrieved, he tossed it aside.

The man stripped him off his coat and patted him down. He took the tablet and his cell phone. The other man did the same to Atem, finding his wallet, phone, and deck.

Atem shot Kaiba a questioning look.

Kaiba looked pointedly at the arena, then at his coat.

Atem gave the barest hint of a nod.

The two men marched them forward. Kaiba’s goon was particularly rough and nearly caused him to stumble.

The arena powered up with an electric hum and both sides projected the holographic image of Heidi in all her glory. “Welcome boys.”

“So how’s this gonna go down?” Kaiba asked.

The henchman smacked the side of his head hard enough to bring him to one knee. “Quiet!” he said.

“Kaiba!” Atem turned to help him up, but his man grabbed his arms and forced them behind his back, keeping him in place.

“Hold him steady. This one already got the jump on me once.”

Atem recognized the man now. It was the same man who had stolen Joey’s star chip—the one Kaiba had taken down. The cut on his hand was still visible.

Kaiba grunted and rose to his feet again, glaring back at him. “Try that again.”

The man held the gun purposefully between them. “I don’t have to,” he said.

Heidi clapped her hands together. “Now, now. That’s enough roughhousing for the time being. I have a deal to settle.”

“Some deal. Wheeler’s not worth much.”

“Hey! I’m worth plenty!”

Heidi chuckled. “He was the easiest to chip. A simple bump and it was easy to swap one of his star chips with our tracker. Just a little insurance in case we had difficulty. Where his friends are, the pharaoh can’t be far behind. Though I will admit, I am surprised you decided to keep him guarded in your castle.”

Kaiba’s hands curled into fists. He’d been careless.

“So my extra star chip … ” Atem trailed.

“Was a tracking chip,” Kaiba concluded.

Heidi winked. “A present from me on the day of our meeting. You should be more careful who you let touch your duel disk.”

“We were right. You caused my duel disk to short circuit that day, didn’t you!” Atem grit his teeth. “It was no drained battery. You needed to get me to that arena.”

“Correct again! My little chips can do so much more than just track your every move. A push of a button and it can disable any connected electronics.”

“Any moron with a junkyard computer could do better,” Mokuba said. “If you can tamper with radio signals, cell phones, and security cameras, why not just weasel your way into KaibaCorp’s private security and track the duel disks themselves on our network?”

“Someone shut that kid up!” Heidi yelled.

The man holding Atem pointed his gun at Mokuba. “You heard the woman! Pipe down or I’ll put a bullet in that smart mouth of yours.”

Kaiba drew the focus away and stepped closer to the arena. “Let them go! We’re here, just like you wanted. Your men are armed and I have no weapon, no way of contacting anyone. If you try to take him, there’s little I could do without risking getting him, myself, or the others hurt. The deal is done, so hand them over!”

Heidi smiled and the hologram began to power down. “A deal’s a deal. Gentlemen, I leave the rest to you. Please escort our guests back to the elevator, and see that you load my prize into the car.”

Then the holographic lights were gone. The arena was silent.

Kaiba stepped cautiously toward the platform of shipping crates, watching the armed men. Neither one attempted to stop him. He ran forward.

Suddenly, the platforms on either side of the arena descended with a mechanical whir, stopping him in his tracks.

Kaiba whirled around, immediately on the defensive. “What is this?”

“A game,” his guard said, giving him a terrible smirk. “You and the pharaoh will have a duel. Whoever wins gets to free their corresponding captive. The loser and his captive stay behind.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a second! That wasn’t the deal!” Joey panicked, tugging and twisting to escape his ropes. “Hey, lady, get back here! Hey! Someone check the fine print!”

“Joey’s right! The deal was that she’d let the others go!” Atem cried.

“Now, see here. She never specified how many people she’d let go. Technically, I don’t have to let more than one captive go, and she never said which. But I’ll be generous. If Seto Kaiba wins, I’ll let both him and the other Kaiba go, but if you win, I’ll let Wheeler go. Either way, you’ll be coming with us. The other details are less important to her.”

Kaiba glowered. “She’ll be pissed that you made a new deal behind her back, especially if it stalls her from getting the pharaoh.”

“She’s got time,” the man argued. He laughed. “We’ve all got time.”

Then Atem’s voice cut through the laughter. “Kaiba,” he said.

Kaiba looked at Atem.

“We only have a little time before this is all over,” Atem said. His eyes fell meaningfully on Kaiba’s coat. “We should make it last.”

“Well said.” The guard clapped sarcastically.

Kaiba took a breath and steeled himself. Yes. They _would_ have to make things last. If things ended too quickly, help would not arrive in time.

“I don’t have a deck,” Kaiba mumbled.

“Here.” Atem’s guard released him and returned his deck. He passed another deck to Kaiba. “You can use your brother’s deck. A great duellist can make any deck work, isn’t that right?”

Kaiba snatched it up gruffly. “You’d better not have taken any of his cards,” he warned.

 

The platforms whirred slowly as they rose up on either side of the arena. Kaiba took a quick glance at Mokuba’s deck, but he knew he was going in blind. He had no time to form a strategy. He only saw a handful of cards before the cocking of a gun forced him to begin shuffling for the duel. The two criminals clearly got a kick out of seeing him unprepared.

Atem and Kaiba shuffled more than necessary, their eyes watching each other from across the room. Both knew what had to be done. This duel was not about winning—if either won, they both lost. This duel was about using as many cards as possible. But that couldn’t be obvious either.

So we’ll play up the rivals schtick, Kaiba thought.

“I’m sorry it’s come to this, Kaiba,” Atem said, his deep voice echoing in the basement room. “I wish there were another way, but I cannot allow any harm to befall my friends. I have a responsibility to defend them. They don’t belong to me alone. His sister is expecting him. His mother, too. I have our other friends to think about as well. This is the truth I have always lived by: I would go to any lengths for the sake of a friend.”

Kaiba thought there was something very familiar about that particular, preaching sort of speech. It tickled at something in the back of his mind. Something that told him exactly how to react to such a sentiment.

Kaiba sneered. “I don’t think you realize what’s a stake here, pharaoh. I have a greater responsibility than something as fragile as your pathetic friendship. Where my brother’s fate is concerned, I’m willing to risk more than my own sake. If you know me, you know this to be true. I would stop the world spinning to protect him. For me, there’s nothing else that needs to be considered; not my company, not a bunch of useless friends—not even myself. If it’s to keep Mokuba alive, I’d lay myself in the line of fire. I have before. He’s all I have in this world and as long as I live, I will not have him taken from me!”

“Now that’s a blast from the past,” Joey said, turning to Mokuba. “Haven’t heard a speech like that in years. Give him a minute; Yami’s gonna say somethin’ about Unity next.”

Mokuba looked at him. “How do _you_ know that? You don’t even know him.”

Joey blinked, then he tilted his head. “You know? I don’t really know. But the two of them shouting back and forth like that gets me itching. There’s something familiar about it, but I can’t put my finger on it: like an itch you can’t scratch. It’s killing me!”

Kaiba and Atem continued.

“I’m afraid you’re at a disadvantage, pharaoh; I know all of the cards in your deck while you know what little you can remember of mine from what you’ve witnessed in play this afternoon.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Kaiba. I’ve recently had the opportunity to reconfigure my deck and I think you’ll find it’s much more powerful than the one I’ve been duelling with until now. And though some of these cards may be familiar to you, I’m almost certain a number of them will surprise you. And there’s one thing more which you haven’t considered: _I_ know every card in my deck. While you may boast, you forget that you know no more of that deck’s contents than I!”

Kaiba chuckled. He glanced up at Mokuba and spoke with confidence in his every word. “That may be so, but I don’t need the advantage of knowing what cards I hold. I trust my brother’s judgement. He’s been studying the styles and strategies of a variety of duellists since we were small children in the orphanage, and now he knows more about the ins and outs of this game than any other duellist. His skill might one day rival even that of my own with enough practice. I know without a shred of doubt that this deck he’s created is one of the most powerful in all of Duel Monsters! So prepare yourself, Yami. If you could lose so easily to a simpleton like Yugi Mutou with three god cards on the field, imagine how painfully swift your annihilation will be when faced with a deck that combines the best skills of both Kaiba brothers!”

“Then show me that confident skill. Draw your first hand of cards and let’s begin!”

They drew.

Kaiba looked at his cards. A decent hand; some good traps. For a fraction of a second, he smirked. The thought rushed through that he had the advantage with his draw before he snapped himself back to the situation at hand. This wasn’t a game! He wasn’t here to win. He looked at his strong hand and grimaced. If Atem drew a weak hand, things would be over quickly. As the life point counter clicked up to eight-thousand life points, he re-ordered his cards.

“I’ve noticed the amount of starting life points has changed since I’ve been away,” Atem said. “The standard used to be four-thousand to start with. Now it’s doubled.”

Kaiba would have to thank Pegasus later. Having eight-thousand life points would make it easier to stall.

“When duelling became an international phenomenon, duels became televised and broadcast on larger time-slots. There are entire channels dedicated to airing duels. In order to stand apart from other duelling companies, Pegasus decided to double the life points. Duels held in his tournaments became more exciting for professionals, as well as more friendly for beginners, rushing in a new generation of duellists otherwise unattainable. There were more chances to make mistakes and learn with eight-thousand life points, and for the professionals … ” He grinned. “If you could destroy eight-thousand life points in the same amount of time it previously took to take down four-thousand, you’d be a god. It made for more incentive to train and build speed decks for a quicker duel. Timing became more impressive. Now there are records for timed duels. It offered a brand new challenge to the tiring crowd.”

He slammed his empty palm on the summoning field, the sound booming through the empty floor. “But that’s a gimmick for the weak! A true duelist finds fulfillment in the duel itself, not the speed with which the enemy is crushed! The timing is barely a footnote in the game. True victory comes from reading your opponent’s moves and overcoming each one as its laid! _That’s_ how the game is won. _That’s_ what winning means!”

Atem’s eyes had been closed through Kaiba’s speech. A smile sat on his face as he held his cards before him.

“I have missed this,” he said.

He opened his eyes once more and he replied in equally thunderous enthusiasm.

“Very well, Kaiba! The stakes have been set. The time has come for you to show me just how many times you can win!”

Atem raised a card and placed it on the summoning field. “I summon my Celtic Guardian to the field in defense mode and place one card on the field face down, ending my turn.”

“Starting with defense right off the bat. And one face down card. Either you drew a bad hand or you’re baiting me into a trap. But I’m willing to bet this early in the game and say that’s a spell card. I summon Kanan the Swordmistress in attack mode!”

Kaiba slapped the card on the summoning field and watched the hologram blaze to life. His swordmistress stood before the kneeling guardian, her sword raised high.

“Get rid of that pointy eared abomination!” Kaiba commanded.

The swordmistress leapt forward, slicing the image of the Celtic Guardian in half. In a pixellated flash, the guardian was gone, but Atem’s life points were unharmed.

Atem drew a card. “You saw through my ruse. Nevertheless, because my guardian was in defense mode, my life points remain undamaged by your attack.”

“Like I care.” Kaiba shrugged. He placed one card face down. “I’ve never really liked that green elf, and I’m happy enough just to see it go. I’ll match you and place one card face down before I end my turn. Now get on with it, Yami. I don’t have all day.”

Atem reordered the cards in his left hand, staring Kaiba down with a confident smile. “Be a little more patient, Kaiba. The anticipation is half the fun.” He placed a card on the field, keeping one in his left hand, and crossed his arms. “I summon my Feral Imp to the field in defense mode.”

“Defending again,” Kaiba said.

“Trust me, Kaiba. This game isn’t all defense. I’m simply biding my time while my strategy comes to fruition.”

“What strategy? It’s only the second turn.”

Atem flipped the card in his left hand. “This strategy. I activate Foolish Burial. This card allows me to send one monster card from my deck directly to the graveyard. Can you guess which card I choose to send?”

Kaiba groaned. “Don’t tell me. It’s the—”

“Dark Magician!” Atem confirmed. He found the card, reshuffled his deck, and placed the card in the graveyard. “It was surprisingly close to the top. I could have waited awhile longer, but I had something specific in mind. It’s your move Kaiba.”

Kaiba drew a card. His eyes went wide and he turned to scowl at Mokuba. “You’ve been snatching cards from my deck!” he shouted, waving Vampire Lord between them.

“Have not!” Mokuba protested. “Yours isn’t the only Vampire Lord in the world. I traded for it back in the Toon Town Tournament. I met an enthusiastic vampire deck user from Transylvania there, and he had two. His deck was pretty cool, so we traded a few cards.”

Kaiba looked at his hand and grumbled, “Well that explains a couple things.”

“Whatsa matter, Kaiba?” Joey teased. “Don’t like vampire cards? Or do you prefer to do the blood-sucking in person?”

“Can it, Wheeler.”

“Hey, I might be beaten or shot today. I’m throwing all my punches while I still can. Wait, I got another one! Too many vampire cards in your hand? I always thought you’d be the head of a brood, though you brood enough for the whole coven!”

“How do you even know two different words for a group of vampires?” Mokuba asked.

Joey grinned. “I hang out with Bakura. I know _five_.”

A shot fired in the air and the group flinched.

One of the men stood by with a smoking pistol. “Let’s get on with the duel, shall we?”

Kaiba snarled. “I sacrifice Kanan the Swordmistress in order to summon my Vampire Lord to the field in attack mode! And I’ll add second face down card to my side of the field. You’re lucky I had something better, or I would’ve gotten rid of your little Imp too, but summoning a more powerful monster was the stronger move, especially now that I’ve begun to formulate a strategy of my own. Since I’m feeling generous, I’ll end my turn without attacking.”

Atem drew. “I feel like I should write you a card. Thanks to your generosity, I can sacrifice my Feral Imp to summon my Dark Magician Girl!”

In a brilliant flash of light, the Dark Magician Girl appeared on the field. She looked around and turned toward Atem, opening her mouth to speak, but Atem raised a finger to his lips. She was not his messenger at this moment.

“What do you say to that, Kaiba? And since I sent my Dark Magician to the graveyard with Foolish Burial, my Dark Magician Girl’s special ability grants her an extra three-hundred attack points.”

As he spoke, the Dark Magician Girl’s staff grew longer and developed a pointed end, resembling the Dark Magician’s own staff. She smiled triumphantly and hoisted it to her shoulder, staring down the Vampire Lord.

“So much for your budding strategy. Now, Dark Magician Girl; attack his Vampire Lord!”

The Dark Magician Girl raised her staff in the air and prepared to attack.

“Not so fast, Yami! I reveal my first face down card!”

A colony of bats filled the air with a hundred terrible screeches as the card rose. A cloaked figure arose as if from the grave, encased in shadow. Two wolves cried, their howls echoing all around. The wolves, half smoke with red eyes, split down the middle with white fur, emerged from the vampire’s cloak and ran across the field toward the Dark Magician Girl. They stole her staff and as all watched, she evaporated to bits, leaving Atem’s field empty of monsters. Then the trap card vanished, taking the dark image with it.

Kaiba crossed his arms proudly, mirrored by his Vampire Lord. “So much for _your_ little strategy. Looks like you were planning this move from the first turn. A shame I had to wreck things so soon—and with a trap card I didn’t plan on using!”

Kaiba laughed maniacally. Whether he was playing things up or had seriously lost his goal in their duel, Atem couldn’t say.

“Vampire Domination. When a spell, trap, or monster effect is activated while I have a vampire in my control, I can negate the activation and destroy your monster card. But that’s not all: I gain life points equal to your monster’s original attack!”

As he spoke, his life points counted up to ten-thousand, while Atem’s rolled down to six-thousand.

“Now you’ve got two or your favorite cards in the graveyard. Since I have none of my own, this balances things out nicely. Lucky I drew that Vampire Lord or this trap card would have been useless. It was a bluff originally. Turned out pretty useful after all. Now finish your turn, if you have anything to play.”

“So, you knew I meant to sacrifice my Feral Imp to summon the Dark Magician Girl,” Atem said. “That’s why you didn’t attack when you summoned your Vampire Lord.”

“Of course. I wanted to put your strongest cards out of play as quickly as possible. And since I knew the Dark Magician Girl’s special ability would activate, I finally had a use for Vampire Domination.”

But Atem did not frown. He did not clench his fist or lower his head. Instead, he smiled.

“Thank you, Kaiba,” he said. “You’ve made things much easier for me.”

Kaiba lowered his hand. “What are you talking about?”

“Have you already forgotten my face down card?” Atem asked.

Kaiba looked across the field. There lay the card. But just what was it? A monster? An unactivated trap? A spell card? He didn’t look the least bit concerned about losing two-thousand life points in a single blow.

“I active the spell card Soul Charge to summon my Dark Magician and my Dark Magician Girl to the field once more!”

Two panels of light opened on Atem’s side of the field. From them rose the two spellcasters. The Dark Magician looked around in confusion, but the Dark Magician Girl pointed to Joey, Mokuba, and the goons, putting a finger to her lips. The Dark Magician Nodded. To anyone else, it looked as if the Dark Magician Girl was just being playful, running through an animated AI program, just like all the cards in the solid vision system database. But Atem and the others knew better.

“Unfortunately, by using Soul Charge to summon my monsters, I must sacrifice one-thousand life points each. A small price to pay to gain the upper hand. I place one card face down, and Since Soul Charge prevents me from entering the battle phase, I’m afraid I must end my turn without attacking. You may easily destroy my Dark Magician Girl with your Vampire Lord if you wish, but know that when you do, their matching attack points will destroy them both, leaving your side of the field open to my next attack unless you can summon another monster to protect you.”

Atem’s life points rolled down until the reader projected four-thousand life points.

“You idiot!” Kaiba shouted. “You do realize I have ten-thousand life points? What do you think you’re doing!”

“I’m perfectly used to playing with four-thousand points and I’ve come back from far worse. I’d be more concerned with your own life points. I’ll be knocking them down very soon.”

The reality of Atem’s situation was too much. Kaiba sobered quickly. For a minute, he’d gotten too carried away with himself. It had been too long since someone had offered him a real duel, and his handicap only made the excitement rise.

He drew and looked at his cards. He sighed.

“Fine then. But let’s see how confident you still feel after I take your beloved Dark Magician. Behold! I activate the magic card, Snatch Steal!”

A canvas bag appeared beneath the Dark Magician and swallowed him whole before sinking into the arena floor. The bag appeared on the other side of the field and he emerged beside Kaiba’s Vampire Lord. The Dark Magician Girl panicked and twisted her staff in her hands nervously, shooting glances back at Atem.

“Not feeling so confident now, are we?” Kaiba mocked. “Once my Vampire Lord destroys your Dark Magician Girl, my new Dark Magician is free to attack your life points directly. Let’s see now: four-thousand minus two-thousand five-hundred. It’s not looking good for you, Yami.”

Joey squirmed in his bonds. “Hey, cut it out, Kaiba! This isn’t a game!”

“Oh, but it is,” Kaiba replied. “It’s one of the greatest games of all: a game of life or death. How do you think it’ll end, Yami? Which of us is the clearest victor?”

“Quit calling him that! You don’t have the right to use his name like that!” Joey shouted. “That was the name we gave him—the name his _friends_ gave him!”

Atem looked at Joey in disbelief.

Kaiba scoffed. “About time. I’ve said his name seven times in front of you people since the second stage of the tournament started. I didn’t think it would take this long to jog your memory, but then again, I’m always underestimating just how slow a bunch you are.”

Joey’s glare caused the armed men to snicker. They were starting to enjoy the interferences.

As the Vampire Lord attacked the Dark Magician Girl, as their images evaporated from the field, Atem and Kaiba stared blindly across the field.

“I had wondered. You never used my true name around them,” Atem said. He lifted a hand to his chest. Underneath his shirt, he wore the cartouche Teá had given him.

“Nobody knew it long enough for it to leave an impact. In fact, I doubt if they remember it from the second stage announcement. I figured ‘Yami’ would be more significant to them. Besides. As far as I’m concerned … ”

The Dark Magician attacked Atem’s life points directly in a brilliant purple flash. Kaiba lifted the chain from under his shirt, holding it so it shone in the projected light of the arena. Atem’s name caught the strange light, shining for all to see.

“… the name belongs to me alone,” Kaiba said.

The life point reader rolled down to one-thousand five-hundred as Kaiba tucked the chain away. But Atem was too stunned to notice.

“By the way. As consequence for stealing your Dark Magician, you’ll gain one-thousand life points each standby phase that he’s under my control. I hope to draw a powerful card soon so I can sacrifice him. I’m not worried as things stand, however. Now, what will you do next?”

Atem knew. Whatever his own plans were, Kaiba was to see to it that he did not lose this duel.

“Don’t wait too long to use that face down card,” Kaiba warned.

Atem’s life points rolled back up to two-thousand five-hundred as he drew and entered his standby phase. He looked at his drawn card. “It seems that luck is with me once more.”

“It’ll run out soon.”

Atem revealed his card. “Guess again, Kaiba. I play Swords of Revealing Light!”

Three flaming swords rained down from above, embedding themselves in the Dark Magician’s card. They caged him, but he smiled, unbothered by this development. It was a rare thing for Mahad to see his pharaoh in action. It was better now that he did not have to deal the finishing blow.

“In addition to my spell, I summon my Koumori Dragon to the field. In defense mode, of course. And since it appears that I am now out of cards, I end my turn. Since Swords of Revealing Light prevent you from attacking, I assume you forfeit your turn. Unless, of course, you draw something useful.”

Kaiba drew. His face paled as he looked at his card. He looked like he was going to be sick.

“Kaiba?”

Kaiba turned to grimace at Mokuba.

Mokuba cringed. “What did you draw this time?”

Kaiba revealed his card.

Joey cackled.

“I … I summon Kuriboh … to the field,” Kaiba said. He rubbed his hand over his eyes after setting down the card.

Kuriboh came to life on the field with a cheerful backflip and trill, then it trembled in horror as a sword embedded itself likewise in its card. The Dark Magician looked on sympathetically as the panicked monster’s eyes began to water.

Kaiba shuddered. “I’m never saying those words again.”

“It’s a useful card!” Mokuba shouted.

“It’s a pathetic furball whose only purpose is to be destroyed to save my ass from one attack.”

Atem, hands empty, used both to contain a bubble of laughter that threatened to rise.

“I end my turn, so just get on with it already!”

Atem drew. His reader rose to three-thousand five-hundred.

“I sacrifice my dragon in order to summon my Beast of Gilfer in its place. It may not be as powerful as the Dark Magician you stole, but I have faith that things will turn around by the time you’re free to attack. Your move.”

Kaiba drew, reordering the cards in his hand again.

“That’s quite a full hand you have,” Atem commented. “I envy you. Can’t you find a use for any of your cards?”

“Sure. In fact, I have a pretty good idea of how to use a couple now. I summon Magic Hand to the field in attack mode. I place one card face down and end my turn.”

Atem drew and received another thousand points, raising his total to four-thousand five-hundred. “An old favorite. I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode. I’m tempted to use my Beast of Gilfer to attack your Magic Hand, but I’d rather not waste such a powerful card only for you to put Kuriboh’s special ability in play. I’d rather wait one more draw to see if I get another monster more worth sacrificing. I end my turn without attacking once more. You only have to suffer my Swords of Revealing Light for one more turn.”

Kaiba drew and was tempted to crush the card in his hand. “Is every draw from this deck going to be a further irritation! Of all cards! You had to add one from _his_ deck!”

Kaiba thrust a finger at Joey who nearly tumbled his chair off the platform in surprise.

Kaiba slapped the card down violently on the summoning field. “Time wizard!” he yelled. “Now go! It’s your move!”

Atem shakily drew another card as he watched Kaiba glare his own Swords of Revealing Light through the side of Mokuba’s turned head. It was safe to say Mokuba wouldn’t move for much more than three turns. His reader rose to five-thousand five-hundred life points.

“We’re having a serious talk if we live through this,” Kaiba muttered.

Atem coughed. “I activate Pot of Greed.”

He drew two more cards. It felt good to have something in his hand again, but it wasn’t going to last very long.

“Thanks to Pot of Greed, I’ve drawn two very useful cards. I summon Sangan in attack mode. I end my turn. It’s your move again, Kaiba. You are now free from the effects of my spell card.”

Things were going well. Their life points were both at comfortable levels and they had several monsters between them. Plenty of time had passed. Help would arrive soon. Atem admired Kaiba’s trick with Snatch Steal. With his life points replenished each turn, it made things much easier to go on.

“Finally.” Kaiba drew. He smiled at his card. “I sacrifice Kuriboh and Time Wizard in order to summon Big Koala in attack mode!”

“Sacrifice Time Wizard?” Joey’s mouth hung open. “You could’ve wiped out his whole field!”

“Or his _own_ field. My brother’s not a gambler like you,” Mokuba replied.

With an enormous boom, a gargantuan creature fell into the arena, shaking the platforms.

“Cute, huh? An efficient way to get rid of those two pathetic cards. But don’t be fooled by its cuddly exterior. This oversized teddy bear has enough attack points to power through your Big Shield Gardna’s defenses. And since your swords aren’t there to hold me back any longer, I can use it to attack. Go! Send his Big Shield Gardna down under—six feet under!”

The hulking beast lumbered forward, each step shaking the arena. It raised a clawed paw to strike the pathetic shield aside.

“I activate my trap card, Magic Cylinder, negating your attack and subtracting two-thousand seven-hundred life points from your total!”

One of the Magic Cylinders opened wide, swallowed the Big Koala, and, with a mighty effort, the other cylinder fired it at the other side of the field where it crashed against the wall. A great tremor shook the arena as Kaiba’s life points rolled down to seven-thousand three-hundred.

“Things are finally starting to move forward,” Atem said.

Kaiba nodded. “At least now there will be no more surprises. You’re out of traps. Dark Magician, destroy his Beast of Gilfer.”

In one quick movement, the Dark Magician stabbed through Atem’s monster, shattering it to pieces. However, a few pieces flew to Big Shield Gardna, absorbed by him.

“You Gilfer’s special effect might add five-hundred attack points to big Shield Gardna, but that amounts to no more than a measly six-hundred points. See what you can do with that.”

Atem glanced at his hand. He’d hoped to do a little more damage before his monster was destroyed. He drew another card as his life points increased to seven-thousand five-hundred. He wasn’t too upset by the loss of his Beast of Gilfer. His life points reflected his confidence. Still, he’d have to do something about the Dark Magician soon. Doubtlessly Kaiba would draw another powerful card soon. Their cards hadn’t been so detrimental in the past eight turns. The tide was turning.

As Atem looked past the field, he caught the glimmer of a gun. The more familiar of the two men was starting to wiggle it impatiently. If something significant didn’t happen soon, his tolerance for their stalling tactics would run out. He wondered if they suspected anything.

Atem took a deep breath. He reached for his draw.

“Just a minute now,” Kaiba said. “I think I’m ready to activate one of my older traps.”

The card rose to reveal its name.

“Conscription. Show me your top card. Let’s see if I can summon it to my side of the field or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and it’ll be a spell or a trap for you to keep, but you’ve drawn a couple monsters now; perhaps that trend will continue in my favor.”

Atem drew his card and tucked it safely in his hand. “How unfortunate. I suppose you’ll have to look under the bed if you hope to find a monster.”

“I wouldn’t celebrate just yet, pharaoh. I set the trap and I knew what I was doing when I did. You might say that I have the upper hand.”

As he spoke, Magic Hand’s lid opened and the mechanical hand shot out, snatching the new card from Atem’s hand. It slapped it directly into the graveyard before banging down on the life point reader and exploding into pieces of data.

Atem’s points rolled down again to six-thousand seven-hundred.

“Dark Bribe. Might’ve been useful a little sooner. It’s too bad, but a card that has no use for me belongs in the graveyard. You’re free to make your regular draw and begin your turn.”

Atem drew the next card.

“You’ve been very helpful in this duel, but I’m afraid the time has come to even the odds before you can do any serious damage. I activate the spell Raigeki and destroy all monsters under your control, eliminating both your Giant Koala and the Dark Magician you stole!”

A bolt of lightning struck Kaiba’s side of the field. In a flash, the two monsters were gone, leaving only one face down card remaining.

“You’ve served me well, Dark Magician, even under another’s command. I also sacrifice my Sangan to summon my Curse of Dragon, and thanks to Sangan’s special ability, when it is sent to the graveyard, I can select any monster of fifteen-hundred attack points or fewer and add it to my hand.”

Atem sorted through his deck, which was beginning to thin, in search of his card. Suddenly, he stopped.

From across the way, Kaiba could see something was wrong. Atem’s dark complexion had paled. Before he could speak out, Atem held a card forward.

“Gamma the Magnet Warrior!” Atem cried.

It was louder than his usual victorious cheer. It was a cry that compensated. For what, Kaiba didn’t know, but he could see a sheen form on Atem’s forehead.

Atem placed the card in his hand and shuffled those that remained in his deck. His hands shook as he did. When he finished, he placed the deck down and declared his attack directly on Kaiba’s life points. Curse of Dragon flapped its powerful wings, sending a gust of black wind across the empty field. Kaiba’s life points rolled down to five-thousand three-hundred.

“My turn is over now, Kaiba. May your next moves be wise.”

There was something chilling in Atem’s voice. This was no taunt, but a warning.

Kaiba looked around the room. There was no clock. No window. No way to tell how much time had passed. Where was the team? It felt like an eternity had passed since he’d issued the alert gps. And something new was wrong. If he was not careful, something would happen soon. He saw fear in Atem’s eyes, clear as day.

He looked at two cards remaining in his hand. He’d held one since the very start of the duel. He knew he’d need it eventually, if he was ever in a tight spot, all out of strategies. Now was the time. He needed to know what Atem knew. He needed to know the risks. And he had one more trump card laid out nicely on the field, just in case there were any surprises.

Kaiba drew his next card.

“I’ve prepared a safeguard to protect myself. I don’t care what the life points say; you won’t be winning.”

“Have you drawn a monster card, then?” Atem asked. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

“A few turns ago, in fact. I was saving it for something special.”

Kaiba placed a monster card face up on the field. “I summon D.D. Warrior in attack mode. My warrior may not be too powerful, but its special ability can be quite handy. If I attack with this card, or if this card receives an attack from a monster, I can banish that monster from play. Of course, that means my warrior will be banished as well, but my power to banish you from this duel doesn’t end with his.”

With a wave of his hand, D.D. Warrior straightened up and dashed across the field. With its sword brandished, it struck Curse of Dragon. The warrior’s sword shattered in hand as he was overcome by the dragon’s attack. But the next moment, they were both vanished from the field. Kaiba closed his eyes against the life point reader. Four-thousand five-hundred.

“I couldn’t sit back and wait for you to attack with your Magnet Warrior. It’d be a real blow to lose one of my trump cards to such a low-threat card. When weighed against the waste of such a powerful card, eight-hundred life points isn’t too high a price to pay to get rid of your strongest monster. Right now, my biggest concern is protecting my own weak defenses. I’ll get to yours eventually.”

Kaiba played a second card from his hand to the field. “This turn, I drew Soul Release. A convenient time for it, too. With it, I can banish five cards from any graveyard and take them out of play. So, from my graveyard I banish the Dark Magician and Snatch Steal. From your graveyard, I banish the Dark Magician Girl, Pot of Greed, and your Raigeki.”

As he spoke, the cards rose up from the graveyard and shattered permanently into oblivion, unreachable.

There was one card left in Kaiba’s hand. He observed it for some time. Then, he lay it on the field face down beside his other mystery card. “I lay one card face down and end my turn.”

Atem’s hand shook as he reached for his deck. He tapped the top card, as if it might shock him. Then, he drew it and added it to his hand. A visible weight was lifted from his shoulders.

“I have another trump card,” Kaiba announced. “You shouldn’t be at all surprised by now when I call to reveal my trap card.”

“I’m not,” Atem replied.

“Then look me in the eye now. I reveal The Eye of Truth.”

The trap card rose up on the field. A striking Egyptian eye sat on the face of the card, one strikingly similar to the eye of the millennium items.

Mokuba looked at the card. He looked between his brother and Atem. “I’ve had that card a long time. I think I kept it as a reminder,” he whispered so Joey could hear.

“Of Yami?” Joey asked.

Mokuba nodded.

“Because of the puzzle … ” Joey trailed. “He was connected to Yugi’s puzzle; Pegasus told us.” He shook his head. “No, that’s not it. I knew it the moment I saw it, but he only showed us once. I _knew_ it was Yugi’s when I saw it.”

“It’s more than that. It’s not just the picture, but the effect. I’ve come to see it in what little time we’ve been reunited. Atem always showed his hand to Kaiba; he held nothing back. And Seto … ”

Kaiba’s voice drowned out their quiet conversation.

“The Eye of Truth demands that you keep your hand revealed to me. That means every card you draw from here on out will be known. In addition, if you draw a spell card, you gain one-thousand life points each standby phase in which you hold it.”

Atem shook his head. He held it in his hands.

“You keep doing this! It’s enough, Kaiba!” he bellowed.

Kaiba clenched his empty fists. “Show me your hand,” he asked softly.

Atem shook his head as his eyes began to water.

“Atem,” Kaiba pleaded.

Atem’s voice cracked and he held the card at arm’s length. Monster Reborn.

“What you’re doing is suicide!” Atem shouted. The illusion was broken. “You’ve done nothing but protect me this entire duel! Every trap—every effect was to raise my life points! You’ve kept me from the graveyard long enough! I shouldn’t even be here and you’re doing everything to keep me from going under again! You were so sure you stop me from going. You pushed yourself before Yugi. You volunteered to stand in at the duel. I don’t care how much you boasted about your skills and strategies or how sure you were that you could defeat me and send me packing. We both know you’d have lost! You’d have lost and I would’ve stayed! And I think you knew that.”

Hot tears were streaming down Atem’s face as he gripped the front of his platform. Sobs shook his shoulders. He tried to compose himself. They were running out of time! Kaiba was giving him every advantage with no regard for his own life. He hadn’t changed. If things kept on this way, the duel would be over in two turns!

Kaiba looked on, feeling that Atem was much further away. He felt a headache coming on. He couldn’t listen to this.

“I … I hoped you knew that,” Atem said. He remembered watching those eyes as the gates closed behind him. He’d held that look in his heart ever since, romanticized it, perhaps. Twisted the facts to suit his heart.

He straightened up, not bothering to wipe his face. He slammed the card onto the field. “I activate Monster Reborn to bring back your Big Koala.”

The hologram projectors hummed to life as the card slipped from Kaiba’s graveyard.

“But I don’t summon your Big Koala as my own ally. I summon Big Koala to _your_ side of the field!”

With a colossal quake, Big Koala emerged from the ground to guard Kaiba’s empty field.

Kaiba gaped at Atem in horror. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

Atem wiped his eyes clean and smiled. “It’s my turn, Kaiba. You’ve got someone who needs protection more than me.”

Mokuba locked eyes with Atem. He, too, had begun to cry.

“I’ve lived a life. In fact, I’ve lived two. A third life is just plain greedy.”

Atem looked at Joey. “Forgive me. Either way, I won’t be leaving this place. If I can save two lives, I have to weigh that chance.”

Joey nodded as the tears dripped down his chin. “Don’t worry. I’ve got my sister and mother all taken care of. They’ll be alright. I’m sure I’ve been ready for death before. It isn’t easy, but it feels familiar. Besides, you ended up somewhere okay. I’m not so scared when I think of that.”

Atem managed to laugh. “You’re right!” he said, wiping an eye. “It’ll be just fine.”

An explosive crash rumbled through the room as Kaiba smacked his hands flap on his summoning field. “That’s _enough!_ ” he thundered. He rubbed his temples, but it grew worse. “This game isn’t over yet, so don’t act like things are decided! Only I get to say when a duel is done, and I’m still playing to the end.” He felt something give, but the ache remained. “Didn’t you say that once?” he asked. It was during that duel. “Stand by those words now. If you meant them with Yugi, you have more reason to mean them with me. Fight until the very end!”

Atem stared at him across the expanse. Until the end.

“Hurry up and finish your turn,” Kaiba demanded. “We aren’t done just yet.”

Atem choked on his words. He raised a reluctant arm. “Then watch me closely.”

In a perfect mirror, the way they’d always duelled, Atem repeated Kaiba’s last move, attacking Big Koala with his Gamma the Magnet Warrior: a fight wherein his was the losing end. He could’ve ended his turn without attacking, but he hadn’t given up on Kaiba just yet. Any move to even the field was a move he was willing to take.

Atem’s reader rolled down to six-thousand three-hundred.

“And that’s all I can do for now.”

“My turn then. I’ve drawn another unfortunate card: Dark Rabbit. I summon it to the field in attack mode. It kills me to have a deck in my hands made up of the cards owned by my top three nuisances, but I’ll play whatever gets us to the end.”

A maniacal and altogether un-funny purple bunny hopped out of a hole in the field and scurried around, up, down, and even over Big Koala’s towering bulk, all the while snickering behind his gloved hands.

“I use my new monster to attack your Big Shield Gardna, reducing my own life points by fifteen-hundred and destroying my rabbit! Now I’ll attack your same monster with my Big Koala. You lose one hundred life points, and no more. With that, I end my turn.”

Their readers rolled down, but while Atem’s stopped at six-thousand two-hundred, Kaiba’s continued to roll down until it projected three-thousand even.

Atem drew his next card and with it, his great fear. He revealed his hand.

Kaiba stilled like the dead.

In Atem’s hand was The Winged Dragon of Ra.

Their captors gaped at the unknown card. Joey and Mokuba stared as well, their surprise just as real. It was like staring at a life urban legend. They had not imagined Pegasus would lie about the creation of the god cards, but seeing one in person was an altogether different experience.

“I told you to put those away before we left,” Kaiba said.

“I would have,” Atem defended. “I was too distracted to remember, considering what happened before. I spent that time thinking. Wondering about things you said.”

Kaiba’s head was splitting. He raised a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. “You didn’t have to wonder. I made my position perfectly clear.”

“And so did I. Since my side of the field is empty and I can summon no monster, I am forced to forfeit my turn. You must promise me that you will attack. Don’t let this be a draw and pass standstill.”

“I promise you nothing,” Kaiba replied. He drew. “I summon Copy Cat to the field in attack mode. Who knows? It might be a handy trick to play against a god.”

“If it should come to that. But I refuse to give you that chance. Now strike!”

“No.”

“Either you strike or one of those two will!” Atem pointed to their deadly spectators. “This is a duel. Duels have casualties. You can’t just refuse to fight.”

Kaiba hung his head in his hands. He stole a hidden moment there to breathe. His hands were cold as ice and they felt good against his burning eyes. The sensation soothed him and he realized Atem was right. As much as he hated it, he was right.

Kaiba flicked a hand wordlessly. He was deaf to Big Koala’s attack, even as he felt the world shake beneath him. He felt it really hadn’t ever stopped.

“Since my Copy Cat has nothing to mirror, it’s useless to me this turn. With nothing else to be done, I end my turn.”

Atem drew.

He recognized this card. This card had been among the large yellow folder Pegasus had gifted him. All of the cards inside had belonged to Yugi: copies Pegasus provided where he could, with some exceptions. They’d all been familiar, save for one. Atem’s heart was heavy at the sight of it. It was a new card, one made just for him. It was a message from Pegasus. It depicted five Duel Monsters cards, all face down: one in each corner and one, larger, in the center. One card for each of his closest friends. One for Yugi, for Teá, for Tristan, and one for Joey. And there was one more shining brilliantly among them.

“I activate Card of Spirit.”

Kaiba looked at the strange card. He knew them all.

“What does it do?” he asked. It was not a question he was used to asking.

As Atem set the card on the field, the platforms clicked and began to lower.

Kaiba jolted, startled. “Atem, what’s happening?” he asked, his voice urgent.” Why are we moving?”

The platforms settled on the arena floor and Atem walked around the edge slowly, his deck in hand. “Bring your deck, Kaiba. This will be a very strange move.”

Kaiba snatched up his deck, eyeing their captors warily. They looked interested, but one nudged the other and kept his gun at the ready. Kaiba observed that nothing had changed on the field, however, and his monsters remained projected, as well as their life points. The duel was still on.

They met in the middle.

“Card of Spirit allows us both to choose a card from our decks. Choose yours.”

Kaiba sorted through his deck, watching Atem warily.

Atem’s head was bent over his cards, searching.

When Kaiba had chosen his card, he waited patiently for Atem to explain the rest.

“Now we give each other our decks. We chose four random cards from the decks, then give each other those cards.”

They chose the four cards and added them to the first, creating a pile of five. Atem passed Kaiba his deck back. As Kaiba returned the other, Atem held his hand a brief moment. There was something electric in his touch that shocked Kaiba to the heart. And then he was gone. Something about that simple touch left him cold. It felt as if it would be the last they shared.

The moment Kaiba set foot on his platform, they began to rise again. The whirring sound was clunkier this time, rhythmic. If he paid closer attention, he might’ve guessed it had come from elsewhere. The click was louder at the top. It sounded more like the clack of a door.

“The final step: we shuffled and choose one of the five cards at random and add it to our hand. The other four we return to our deck and shuffle. You go first.”

Kaiba drew his card, selecting one of the random cards Atem had pulled. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Rainbow Blessing.” He looked at Mokuba and smiled. “And Kuriboh before. You’ve taken techniques from Yugi.”

Mokuba shook his head. Not Yugi.

“Yami?” Kaiba asked. But he should’ve guessed.

“Don’t.”

Kaiba turned back to Atem.

Atem gave him a fierce look. “Don’t call me that anymore,” he said. He shuffled the five cards carefully. “I’m happy that you would try so hard for the sake of their memories, but that name is wrong now. I’m no longer Yami. I’m not Yugi’s darkness—just another side of him. And no more ‘pharaoh’ either. That’s all anyone ever called me in that old life, and even in the afterlife. I’m someone new now.”

Kaiba nodded, his face stoic as he listened.

“I would have liked to hear you say it more, but I’m afraid the time for that is quickly coming to an end.”

Atem revealed his card.

“It’s fitting that it should be Obelisk,” he said. “I’d chosen Slifer. Something drew you to choose Obelisk from my deck. You still share a connection.”

Kaiba gripped the edge of his platform. Seeing Atem holding Obelisk across the arena called forth another image. His head was splitting!

“Why would throw your spell away just so you could choose a card you can’t even summon!”

Atem smiled. “I wanted to say a proper goodbye.”

Kaiba’s blood ran cold. Goodbye?

“Look at this field. I hold two god cards I can’t summon. You have a powerful monster on your side and a trap so useless it’s been sitting there for four turns! My turn is over. All you’ve got left to do is attack. There’ll be one more turn, I’ll draw, I’ll sit here on my hands, and you’ll attack once more. It’ll be over.”

“No. You don’t know that. You could draw something that could turn things around! You always do! You said it yourself; you always win!”

Atem shook his head. “What I said was, you always lose. I’m not winning today.”

Kaiba grit his teeth. His head throbbed and he shut his eyes. He would not accept this.

“I use my Big Koala to take twenty-seven-hundred life points from you directly! I end my turn. Now draw your card!”

“My last pathetic card.” Atem laughed grimly. He drew it.

Kaiba held his breath, leaning forward against the summoning field.

Atem turned the card over, tears in his eyes once more.

“Slifer the Sky Dragon,” he said. He tucked it gently in with the other two and held them close to his heart. “It’s your move, Kaiba.”

Kaiba saw the final move that lay before them. He felt himself break into a cold sweat as he read Atem’s life point reader. Eight-hundred points. There was nothing more to be done. He backed away from the summoning field, shaking his head.

“I won’t call the attack,” he said. “I can’t."

Atem closed his eyes. “Then you leave me no choice.”

The world stopped spinning as Atem lowered his head and placed his left hand flat over his deck in surrender. He looked up at Kaiba for the last time, giving him one more smile to say goodbye.

“Congratulations,” Atem whispered. “Well done.”

Kaiba snapped to attention as Atem’s life points fell to zero. The hum of the hologram projectors, ever-present, faded into nothing.

He’d always wanted to win. But not like this.

Atem turned away, leaving his deck behind. He let his final cards fall from his hand. The flutter of the first card as it hit the floor was the loudest sound in the world.

Slifer.

Obelisk.

Ra.

Kaiba opened his mouth. He saw the two men move to take Yami away, closing in on him like two ancient stone gates. His voice stuck in his throat, just as before. He had too many things left to say to say any of them. Not this time. He couldn’t watch him walk away again without a backward glance.

But Atem looked back. His parting words filled the empty room, cutting through the unending silence.

“Goodbye, Seto.”

And that was all it took.

With an animalistic howl, the lock on Kaiba’s heart split open and he called, “YUGI!”

The memories flooded through him, and with them, the old habit. He rushed forward on legs he could no longer feel. He reached out his hand. His heart was in his ears. He saw one of the men turn and raise a gun. A shot pierced the air.

Kaiba dropped to his knees. Surely the pain in his chest meant he’d been shot.

And then the armed man fell dead.

The atmosphere drummed with the sound of no less than twenty men in combat boots, the clicking of their firearms keeping rhythm. They surrounded the surviving man, their weapons raised and pointed. One member of Pegasus’ security detail came forward and disarmed him before knocking him out with a heavy blow to the back of the head with his pistol.

Atem fell to his knees and cried out in relief.

A moment later, Rolland followed. He ordered two of the men to cut Joey and Mokuba free of their ropes and to help them down. Two groups broke off from the main barrage to search the surrounding area. The sound of static and fuzzy relays over their radios broke through to Kaiba.

Kaiba stumbled to his feet again, unharmed. He blundered his way to where Atem kneeled, surrounded by tactical security. They had their arms around his elbows in an attempt to help him stand and he stood limp like a rag doll, trying to remember how to breathe. Then he caught Kaiba’s eye. All the fear and grief came to a swell and he reached out toward him.

And Kaiba swung at him, knocking Atem straight on the cheek with a full-fisted punch.

Kaiba grabbed at his shirt and shook him to his feet. “Don’t you _ever_ do something stupid like that ever again! I’ve had it with your self-sacrificing bullshit!” he shrieked.

A number of the people in the room stopped dead.

Kaiba’s knuckles were white and his every limb tingled as adrenaline seeped out of him, but he kept the strongest grip he’d ever held for sheer desperation. “That’s the second time you’ve walked away now, and you would’ve done it without a second thought—without a single word or goodbye! You can’t force my hand like that! Twice I’ve struggled to understand you, and _twice_ I’ve only just figured it out, and you go and pull a stunt like that the moment I’ve decided what it all means. You can’t just decide to _die_ on me again!”

Atem stared at him, eyes wide, and let him unleash his barrage. Then Kaiba did something that cut him to his very core.

Kaiba’s clear blue eyes, so strong and well-guarded, turned red and spilled over with heavy tears. He crushed his lips against Atem’s as if his very life depended on it. Then, he wailed and buried Atem in his arms, clutching him as close as possible. He held Atem’s head against his shoulder and bawled behind his back, wetting his jacket drop by drop.

“You left!” Kaiba cried. As the sobbing grew worse, it became harder to speak coherently. “You were the one person who wasn’t supposed to leave. You were already dead and there was supposed to be nothing left—no power on earth that could take you away! I thought … I thought if it was you … that maybe this time I wouldn’t … ”

Atem rubbed his back, trying to steady him. He closed his eyes and held tight.

“But I came back. I left, but I came back. And you should know, I never wanted to leave, Kaiba. Never.”

Kaiba buried his face in Atem’s shoulder. “Well you sure didn’t put up much of a fight when Ishizu tossed out the word Destiny for the hundredth time,” came the muffled reply.

“I know better now; I learned that from you. We can decide our own destiny.”

Kaiba pulled away, looking Atem square in the eye. “You can’t die,” he said. It offered no argument. “You can’t leave like that again. That’s not something that you can decide on your own.”

Atem nodded.

Kaiba looked at him a moment more. Then the fatigue caught up to him. He fell against Atem’s chest and closed his eyes, letting Atem surround him. The weight of him was a solid reminder that he was alive. He listened to his heart—a heart that was _his_ , not simply borrowed. This was Atem.

It was Atem that leaned down and kissed his ear. It was Atem who whispered to him that privileged name.

“Seto?”

He opened his eyes.

“You know, technically speaking, you won the bet,” Atem said.

And Seto smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you can understand now why this took so long to write. My respect to the poor sorry sod who had to write those card games in the show. It is WORK.


End file.
